


Red Rain

by MrTYTrack



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Assault, Background Relationships, Blood and Violence, Cheating, Dubious Consent, Established Relationship, Gang Violence, Gangs, Graphic Description, Gun Violence, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Mafia NCT, Murder, Non-Consensual Drug Use, OT23 (NCT), Organized Crime, Parenthood, Recreational Drug Use, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:48:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 44,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27459715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrTYTrack/pseuds/MrTYTrack
Summary: Lee Taeyong—the leader of Neo Culture, a notorious makeshift crime family consisting of twenty-three talented outlaws—was born into crime. When he turned eighteen, Taeyong decided to leave his father's crime family behind and create a far smaller team. Plagued by crime and corruption, the city of Capitol was no stranger to conflict, but with a new enemy in the ranks, Neo Culture is put to the test to defend their territory through lies, deceit and loss.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Nakamoto Yuta, Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Lee Taeyong, Lee Taeyong/Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 23
Kudos: 120





	1. Ransom

**Author's Note:**

> **  
>  [Concept FMV](https://youtu.be/Ugg1AoBsDpY)   
>  **   
>  ****WARNINGS**  
>  — Violence  
> — Character Death  
> — Implied Non-con  
> — Drug Dealing  
> — Weapon Dealing  
> — Addictions  
> — Implied Child Sexual Exploitation  
> — Graphic Description  
> — Mature Themes**   
>  **  
>  _This story will also include swearing. Warnings may change. Check the tags, there are additional warnings. Pre-established DoTae. Read at your own discretion._   
>  **

With his wrists tied to the arms of an uncomfortable chair, Taeyong's head hung low as the blood on his face dried. He felt some of the substance drip down from a wound on his temple. A small sigh slipped out from his lips, rolling his head so he could look at the door before him. It remained slightly open, just _taunting_ him. With rope gripping onto his body, he didn't really have much of a choice about leaving. None of the injuries he had sustained were severe enough to be fatal. They weren't the worst pain imaginable, either. His neck was stiff from the position it had remained in while he slept. Among the sounds of water dripping down the warehouse's corrugated walls, there was a distant echo of a blade being sharpened.

It was just a matter of time until they returned. Taeyong gritted his teeth, turning his head from side to side to relieve the tension that had been irking him for hours on end. All he needed was a nice sleep, wrapped up in a huge blanket, and preferably, somebody to wrap his arms around. He knew the perfect candidate if only he could _actually_ move. His stomach was yearning for food, practically screaming for his attention. In the three or so days he had been tied up in the warehouse, he'd only been fed bread, and he was beginning to get sick of the crumbs which he could only get rid of if he was thrown onto the ground.

Hearing a door behind him creak, he let out a quiet curse. Who knew that being the leader of an outlaw group—as he disliked calling them a gang, because really, they weren't a bunch of junkies on the street—would result in him being tied to a chair, beaten, and being held hostage for a pricey sum? If he knew earlier, he'd have become a criminal far sooner. While painful, the adrenaline was addicting. He'd much rather have some exciting conflicts than sneeze out white powder for a few days. His eyes followed a masked man as he walked into the room, a knife in hand. He made Taeyong sneer.

"Please do enlighten me as to _why_ you feel the need to wear a mask."

The full-faced white mask was nonchalant, but the man's eyes behind it peered into his hostage's soul. The latter let out a bitter scoff. Whoever the tall man before him was, he was going to get his revenge. He only needed a few more days. He didn't work alone, obviously, it was only a matter of time before the others hunted them down.

"Where are your friends? Have you finally grown a pair and realized that I can't kill you when I'm tied up? This isn't fair. At least let me walk around for a while. We can brawl if you'd like? No weapons, just what your parents gave you."

"I'm not setting you free, Lee."

"I'd prefer it if you called me Taeyong, masked man."

The man's accent seemed unfamiliar to him, but one thing was obvious. That man was _not_ Korean. Perhaps not even from their side of the world. He was almost certain that a westerner was hiding behind that mask, which was puzzling. He had no idea what a westerner would want with him or just Neo Culture in general. They weren't that well-known.

"Don't you think fifteen thousand is a bit much? Can you give us a discount?"

The man laughed. "Do you need me to remind you that you're a hostage? This isn't business."

"Where money is involved, it's business. If you skin me and sell me on the black market, that's business. Ask my men for money? That's business, my friend. How do you even know that they'll waste money on buying me back?" asked Taeyong, eyebrows furrowed, "Anybody can lead them, I've already arranged a successor if any of you scumbags try to kill me."

A fist slammed into his face, resulting in him and the chair crashing to the ground. His head slammed against the concrete. He spat out some blood, groaning as the man pulled him back up, his hands gripping onto his collar. The metallic taste in Taeyong's mouth made him scrunch up his face. His lips momentarily rising into a grin, he spat the crimson onto the man's face, making him stand back, wiping it away. 

"You're playing a dangerous game, Lee."

"Danger is my game. Where's the fun in following the rules?"

"You're awfully brave for somebody who's little buddies haven't turned up to take you home," said the man, "you know what happens if they don't come?"

"Enlighten me."

The man's hand gripped onto his head. Turning him to face another door, Taeyong raised an eyebrow as he saw a tall and muscular man—unmasked—staring back at him. Looking at the suit he was wearing, the leader deducted that he was big money.

"You'll be given to him. He has plenty of ideas of what to do with you. You might like it, I'm sure he's got a nice room to lock you in and have some fun with you. Maybe some of his rich friends too."

"Ah, I know who you are now. You're the pieces of shit that have been kidnapping young people and selling them into your disgusting little pedophile trade, aren't you?" Taeyong scowled, "I can't put it into words how badly I want to kill every last one of you, slowly and painfully."

"Bingo," said the man, obviously smiling behind his mask.

"You're lucky my legs are tied, you scumbag."

The man harshly grabbed onto his hostage's chin, holding him in place. "Guess where that money goes?"

"Nowhere. You're not getting any money."

"The money will go straight into the trade. That means you and your gangster friends will be shareholders. If you don't tread carefully and keep your nose out of our business, we'll take half of your men and sell them, too. If we leave you until last, you can witness your gang falling apart. You can have some of the videos, too."

"You sick bastards!" Taeyong shouted.

The tip of the knife was pressed against his chest. The man laughed beneath his mask, pushing it into the hostage's flesh. Taeyong held his breath, feeling the pain as blood ran down his body. It was taken away and the man moved behind him, pushing his head down.

"This had got to be expensive," said the man, running his hand along the collar of his shirt, "now, I've had some intel about you, and I'm curious."

Taeyong turned his head slightly, but feeling the knife tear through the back of his shirt, he cursed. It _was_ expensive. At least more than the junk his attackers were wearing. He felt a cold hand on his back and pulled at the ropes holding him in place.

"So, it's true. That's a beautiful piece of ink, I must say. It must have cost quite a fair bit of coin. But I suppose your big and tough daddy could pay for it, right?" he asked, "Even your name. Taeyong? You were born into dirty money. When did you first take a life, hm? Five? Six? Why did you leave your pop's crime family to start your own? Did the Dragons not cut it for you? Surely you became the leader when he died."

"None of that is your business."

"Do you have the branding too?"

"Why the fuck would I need to be branded? I wasn't an outsider. I was _born_ into that family."

The man hummed. "But were you? Who is your mother?"

"Yet again, none of your business!" he snapped.

"You're an entitled brat, you know that? Let me guess, it was your rebellion from your pop? Leaving the mafia? Now you lead your own little wannabe bad guys. It makes you an easy target for the hotshots. They'd love you have your head as a little trophy for wiping out the Dragons' bloodline."

There was a laugh from the other side of the warehouse. It was the larger man. "So, rare blood? Don't you think he'll sell for quite a sum?"

"Perhaps, but do we really want to risk it? There are some of the family remaining. Two siblings still in this country, I believe."

"Didn't they also leave the life?"

"Don't you think they'd kill to save their kin? That family is tough, they're not going to let their own be thrown around like a toy."

Eyes darted over to the front door as loud engines grew close. Taeyong looked down, his lips curving upward. "Well, boys. I'd love to stay and chat, but it sounds like my ride is here."

"Stay still, shithead." The knife was pressed against his neck, making the leader sigh. He waited in anticipation, waiting for the door to open.

But he was surprised when the door remained how it was. Instead, a pickup truck crashed through the wall, fighting its way through the rubble. Taeyong, incredibly amused, held in a laugh. The knife was dropped to the ground as the truck headed towards them, and the man ran out of the way. Looking through the window to see Johnny driving, the leader was unsurprised. The man fumbled to get his gun as a group of six jumped out of the back of the truck, guns in hand as they eyed up the men. More burst out of the back room. 

All Taeyong could do as bullets flew through the air, tearing through his team's opponents, was sit back and wait. He half expected to be shot, but soon—obviously showing off—somebody jumped from the truck, rolling in his direction. Doyoung. _Of course_. He crouched beside the chair holding a semi-automatic rifle in one hand as he untied the rope. It was a difficult process with one hand. He soon gave in, placing the gun down and he took a knife out of his belt. "Did those assholes lay a finger on you?"

"Given that I'm covered in blood, I'm assuming you mean inappropriately," said Taeyong, rolling his left wrist as it was freed, "no, they didn't."

"Good."

The leader scowled as the younger paused from saving him from the chair, but as he heard a high pitched shriek from close beside him, he turned to see Doyoung shooting somebody who was approaching them. He hated rifles in such close proximity, even if he'd used sniper rifles what felt like hundreds of times before. They were deafening, and due to the incredibly loud noise, ears picked up on nothing but a whistling noise. It was horrendous. He could hardly hear over to the sound of gunfire and continued to untie the rope on his own, taking the knife from Doyoung as the latter focused on helping the others.

Finally breaking free, Taeyong stood up, stretching. His body had almost completely ceased from the lack of movement. Turning to see a gun pointing at him, he ducked down, his eyes meeting Doyoung's. He never expected to be the one doing absolutely nothing during a shoot out, but as he was unarmed, he didn't have a choice. While some members of Neo Culture took a shot or two, they were wiping out the opponents more effectively. Decent guns would wipe out cheap handguns any day. When the final shot was taken, a loud sigh erupted from beside the pickup truck. The window had been shattered during the firing. 

Johnny slammed his hand down on the front of the vehicle, returning his gun to his belt. "Our ride home is going to be cold."

"You're the only one who can keep warm anyway," Yuta reminded him, "we're stuck out back.

Chuckling, Taeyong was taken aback when Doyoung's arms wrapped around him. The latter buried his face into the crook of his neck. Ignoring what the others were shouting, the leader rested his hand on the back of the younger's head. He gently kissed his head and looked over to the others. Seeing Jungwoo grin, he knew what was coming.

"Group hug!"

Suddenly the others ran over, joining onto the hug. Taeyong heard Doyoung swear at them and shook his head. "Alright, that's enough. Let's go home."

They didn't listen, even when the leader gently kicked whoever was behind him. Somebody cleared their throat from the door, catching everybody's attention. Everybody parted and turned around, seeing Sicheng stood where the door once was, holding a briefcase.

"You actually brought the money?" asked Taeyong.

"No. That's a lot of money, you know."

"Then what the hell took you so long?"

Sicheng shook the briefcase in his hand. "Destroying the evidence."

"You—"

"He made a bomb," Doyoung finished.

"So, will everybody get in the truck and get out of here? I need to set off the timer and we need to move. Now."

Johnny got into the driver's seat, allowing the others to climb into the back. Once he sat down, Taeyong looked out of the hole in the wall and grinned, seeing the blacked-out van outside. "You brought everybody?"

"Minus Mark's team," Yuta replied, "everybody else is here, we didn't know how many people were going to be inside."

Reversing over the rubble, everybody whined about the uneven ground. Johnny simply told them to be quiet. Taeyong stood up, looking over the front of the pickup truck as Sicheng placed the briefcase down and pressed some buttons. The van's sliding door opened as he ran back, jumping in so they could get away as quickly as possible. Driving out of the industrial lot, there was a loud bang as smoke flooded into the air. Some of the others cheered, making Taeyong laugh as he looked at the cars passing by.

"I still think you could have been quicker."

Doyoung rolled his eyes. "You weren't in any real danger. You're only scratched."

"You could have your face blown off and he'd still love you," said Jaehyun, and Yuta nodded.

"Close that mouth of yours before I stitch it shut."

The others laughed, but Taeyong put his arm around Doyoung, pulling him closer so he could kiss him on the lips. Childish noises of disapproval from the rest of the team made the leader flash them his middle finger. 

"You taste like blood."

"That's because I've been beaten for three days."

* * *

Stood at the head of a table, Taeyong looked around as the other twenty-two members crowded around. There was a map of Capitol on the table, featuring red crosses and a series of color-coded circles. He cleared his throat, his eyes fixed on the map. His wounds had already been cleaned up, but since he had information from the men who had caught him, they needed to call a meeting.

"Alright, is this everybody?" he asked, "We know who the white men were. Or, I do."

"Were they all white?" Kun questioned.

"No, they seem to be diverse. Most of the buyers were Asian."

"Buyers?"

"Do you all know how there has been a spike in youth disappearances over the last few months? It seems a new trade has wriggled its way into Capitol. Those disappearances aren't runaway cases at all—they're kidnappings. These young people are being sold to creeps," he explained, "we can't let that happen, we need to eradicate those filthy bastards."

"I agree, but how?" asked Johnny.

"I'm not quite sure, but I think our associates may have an idea or two. Also, this may be irrelevant, but they know who I am. They _know_ I'm possibly their worst enemy. This wasn't random, there has to be a reason why they snatched me off of the streets. I mean, I'm not exactly their usual age, not to mention that they wanted money, not to hand me off onto their trade."

"Your father killed quite a few felons in that line of work, didn't he? That's why nobody particularly hated your family because you opposed most other gangs."

"Not just my father," said Taeyong, "if I tell you something, you need to promise to me that you keep your mouth shut."

There were nods and agreements. He trusted them, but everything he could possibly confess about the Dragons could send him to the execution table.

"One of my last missions was to kill this rich businessman who was running for a position in the government. I wasn't given too many details about him, but as I was on the roof waiting to get a good shot, he paid somebody quite a decent stack of money. I assumed it was drug money at first, but a young teen was thrown into that room. I took him out and escaped before anything could happen, but I don't know what happened to that teen. I assume they were given to somebody else."

Doyoung sighed from beside him. "So, we can't even trust the cops with this, I assume? We're going to play the hero?"

"Damn right we are. Corruption is _everywhere_ in Capitol. But we can trust our associates since we have the means to blackmail them if necessary. Even cops break the law, especially when they're desperate. It would be sad if they lost their jobs, wouldn't it?"

"You're evil," Johnny grinned.

"Oh, I know," said Taeyong. "Somebody call our cop friends and ask them to come here as soon as possible, please. I'll be in my office."

As he walked away, eyes fell on Doyoung. He rolled his eyes, aggressively nudging Jaehyun—simply because he was the closest person to him—before he walked away, following behind the leader. He heard the others begin to talk as the door closed behind him. Unsurprisingly, he saw Taeyong waiting at the door to his office. The younger scoffed in disbelief as the leader motioned for him to follow. Looking behind him to ensure none of the nosy bigmouths of Neo Culture were behind him, he followed, closing the office door.

"Are you okay?" Doyoung asked, making the elder raise an eyebrow.

"So, you act all lovey-dovey now that I've been in the filth's hands?"

"I asked if you were okay."

Taeyong nodded. "How about the hug? You _also_ didn't slap me when I kissed you."

"Because I missed you, and I may or may not have been worried about your sorry ass."

"I'm an adult, Doie. I can fight back against buff white men."

"You were tied up, you couldn't do shit even if you wanted to," Doyoung responded.

"Alright, fair. But I'm fine, honestly. He questioned me about the Dragons, revealed his evil plan and that was about it. He hardly even hurt me, the floor did more damage. You know, typical villain stuff."

Doyoung sat beside Taeyong on the couch in the corner of the room. He turned around, snaking his arms around him. The elder smiled. "Still, I didn't think I'd miss you as much as I did."

"Are you drunk?"

"Why the hell would I be drunk during a rescue mission?"

"Did something happen while I was gone?" asked the leader, his bruised hands raking through the younger's hair.

"Your crazy ex happened."

Taeyong let out a sigh, sitting back. He looked at Doyoung with a serious expression. "What did she say?"

"The usual. Just how you're using me, you don't love me, and that you're only putting up with me because it's best for Neo Culture. I'm not good enough for you, Tae—"

"Don't say that, ever. I don't want to hear the nonsense coming out of your mouth. You're all I could ever ask for."

Doyoung's fists were clenched against his knees, avoiding Taeyong's gaze as though his life depended on it. The latter planted a gentle kiss on his lips, getting ahold of one of the younger's hands and holding it in his.

"You're a perfect boyfriend and a perfect advisor, Doie. Don't let her or anybody else get to you. All that matters is that we're both happy."

He nodded, his head resting against the leader's shoulder. He hated that he cared so much about what others thought, even if he acted as though he didn't. But he trusted Taeyong and felt that he could let his guard down around him. He'd entrust his life with him if he had to. They'd been in an on-off relationship for a while, as Doyoung was unsure about what he wanted, and had been "official"—or rather, the others had found out—roughly two months earlier. Due to the others' interference, they agreed to label it. But they were never really the type for public affection.

But they'd known each other for far longer. They were in high school together along with Taeil, Johnny, Yuta, and Jaehyun. The six of them were considered the founders, therefore made most of the decisions. But as Taeyong viewed the others as family, he liked to involve them as much as he could. In high school, the leader had certainly been the most careless. He caused trouble often; it was in his blood. Soon, the others joined. Doyoung, being friends with Taeil, naturally began to talk to Taeyong. When it was obvious that they were all scheming and sneaky, Neo Culture became an unnamed youth gang. Back then, they were just viewed as delinquents. But they'd later evolve into the gang which ran Capitol.

No matter how they looked at it, Neo Culture was becoming more and more alike to the Dragons. Sure, they hadn't done any large-scale operations or assassinations—and the latter was a huge focus for the Dragon crime family—but they did pretty much the same things. They were a brotherhood, and that is family. Taeyong had always made a point of them being a family. It was comforting some of the others if they came from either tricky situations or were even orphaned. Behind the crime, Neo Culture was a home. A safe place where the members could feel at ease.

After a while, there was a knock at the door. After the leader alerted whoever was beyond the door that it was safe to enter, Taeil peered around the corner, relaxing when he simply saw Taeyong holding Doyoung in his embrace. "We've contacted them, but only Detective Byun is available right now. He's on his way."

"Thanks, that's great. One may suffice. I think the founders should handle this one. We can update the others later."

"Alright," Taeil nodded, "I'll tell everybody."

"Good work," said the leader as the eldest left.

Sighing, Doyoung wrapped his arms around Taeyong's neck. The latter looked at him carefully. He couldn't help but feel like the luckiest man alive. He kissed the advisor once again, prompting him to pull him closer, smiling into the kiss.

"I think we have something to do once the cop's gone home," Taeyong spoke quietly, soon returning his lips to the younger, "as much as I'd love to make up for the three days you've been starved of affection right now."

"Don't you think he'll be a while?"

The elder's shoulders raised. "You might as well tell me outright that you're desperate."

Doyoung avoided his gaze for long enough to miss Taeyong's smirk, but the latter's lips found their way onto the younger's neck. He held his breath.

"On second thought, the others will know," the advisor said abruptly, "I think it's best that we wait."

"Okay, if you want. I could do with a smoke now anyway."

The younger rolled his eyes as Taeyong made his way over to his desk. Looking in a drawer, he took out a pack of cigarettes. Opening it, he took out one of them and placed it between his lips as he rummaged through the drawer, looking for a lighter. He quickly returned to the couch, lighting the cigarette.

"That's one thing that I didn't miss," said Doyoung.

The leader blew smoke into his boyfriend's face, smiling. "Well, I did. So suffer for me, I've been gasping for one since an hour after they decided to tie me up."

"I don't get the fuss."

"Addiction, Doie. It's an addiction."

"You could stop. Yuta did."

"That's different," Taeyong replied, "Sicheng practically forced him to."

"Not really, he only threatened to stop sleeping with him."

The elder nodded. "That's the point. He didn't have a choice!"

"I just think it would be nice if you didn't spend so much money on something that will make you ill."

"I get it, I get it. I'll think about it."

He wouldn't, and Doyoung knew that for a fact. He merely sighed, shaking his head as a cloud of smoke was exhaled into the air.

"Should we go and wait in the meeting room? I need a distraction."

The advisor raised an eyebrow. "From what?"

"From you."

"I suppose so," he replied, "we'll just have to hurry the meeting, won't we?"

"Well, I can't exactly just take you on the table, can I? Not while everybody is in there. Let's get this over and done with."

* * *

"I've heard the basics of what is going on," said Detective Byun, "but I'm afraid I'll need some specifics, since you're going to use one of my suspect's accidents against me."

"Your suspect's murder," Taeyong corrected him.

The older male sighed, gritting his teeth. "If that's what you'd call it."

"Capitol is in danger. We're already despised by half of the country. A filthy trade has gripped us, we're losing valuable citizens."

"You sound like a cop, Taeyong. You've been spending too much time discussing death with them," said Johnny.

"It's a method to get into a cop's head."

"I'm right here," Detective Byun reminded them.

"Right," Taeyong chuckled, "children and teens have been going missing lately, surely you've heard that?"

He nodded.

"They're not running away. Twenty-or-so kids don't just up and leave, they're wired to be reliant. They're being kidnapped by scumbags who sell them to pedophiles. They actually snatched me for a ransom, but we blew them to smithereens."

"Why did they take you? You don't even look like a child. You're... what, twenty-six?"

"That is correct. Like I just said, they wanted money. But they never got a penny of the fifteen thousand they wanted."

"Jesus Christ..." the detective muttered.

"They're either dead or lightly grilled. I'll let you look into that in your own time."

"So, why have you come to me?"

"We need your help to gather information, Byun. I need a lead. Anything that can direct us to these scumbags. You're going to need to dig in the sandpit of files for us."

"I can't just look at any files that I want, you should know that."

"Figure it out. Unless you want the old Chief to see the video of you purposefully ramming your car into a suspect's motorcycle?"

The elder drew a deep breath, looking at his intertwined hands on the table. "Fine, I'll help you."

"That's great. You chose wisely."

"Why are you doing this?" asked Detective Byun, "Why won't you leave it to the police?"

"Because the blood that runs through our streets always comes back to corruption. Capitol won't survive if we trust the law."

"Most law enforcers can be trusted."

"Do you walk through the city with your eyes closed? We have cops on our customer list!"

"For what?"

Taeyong sighed. "Drugs, firearms. One or two have even asked for felons to be killed. Sound familiar?"

"Well, have fun with your superhero roleplay, but since when has Neo Culture helped our city?"

"The economy. We earn money and we spend it. I'm sure we've spent enough money to go toward your paycheck for the rest of your life."

"Listen, if you think you have what it takes to beat a whole organisation, go ahead and do it. If you're going to be the good guys, at least succeed."

Shaking his head, the leader laughed. "Good? What is good and evil to you, Detective?"

Doyoung turned to look at Taeyong, clearly startled. So did the others. 

"Good and evil aren't black and white. Nobody can be wholly good or wholly evil," the leader continued.

"That's the smartest thing you've ever said," said Yuta, making the others agree.

"Well, I'd _love_ to stay and discuss philosophy, but if you want to find these guys, I should probably start digging."

"Good. Contact us if there's anything useful."

He stood up, walking to the door. He knew where he was going; he could easily leave. Johnny sat up straight, amused by the meeting. "That Detective hates our guts, you know."

"Of course. We keep using the dashcam footage against him," said Taeil.

"Practice what you preach," Taeyong responded, "the man who's arrested a few of us for petty crimes is a murderer."

"The irony," Yuta scoffed.

"Well, if you don't mind, I'd like to sleep now that my arms and legs are free. I want everybody awake nice and early to see what information we've been given."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An introduction to the story and upcoming conflicts! I accept (and appreciate) positive and negative feedback. Please leave a comment if you enjoyed the first chapter!


	2. Street Royalty

It was early when Doyoung woke up, feeling a chill and an empty space on the bed beside him. He opened his eyes, squinting at the sunlight peeking through the curtains. Once his eyes adjusted, he looked at the door, seeing it partly opened. He knew that Taeyong was probably out on the balcony having his morning smoke. Rolling over with a groan, the advisor placed his hand down on the pillow on the elder's side of the bed. He'd certainly missed having him there. In retrospect, he wasn't even gone for _that_ long. Three days was nothing, especially considering that he had been imprisoned for two weeks waiting for a trial in the past.

He heard the balcony door close and rolled back over onto his back. He was hit with one final wave of bitter air before he pulled the covers up. The bedroom door opened, revealing a shirtless—and rather disheveled looking—Taeyong. He didn't expect his boyfriend to be awake, which was evident in his expression. He soon smiled and walked over to the bed, crawling over until his eyes met Doyoung's, mere inches apart. He kissed him and moved back into his place, holding his arm out for the younger to move closer.

"What's the plan for today?" the advisor asked quietly, his head resting on the leader's chest.

"Talk to Byun again. I'm expecting information, and in that case, we need to lay out all of our options and decide what to do. Eradicating these assholes might be tricky, they'll have allies with big money and lots of power—it's always the rich and elite who abuse their position."

"It does sound like we're the good guys."

"That means nothing. I _hate_ the idea that you have to be one or another. We need to protect this city, but I'm not turning soft."

Doyoung laughed quietly. "Well, if we let our new enemy get grips on the city, the outside force will step in, right?"

"Exactly. We need to remain as closed and independent as this city has always been. Not to mention, Capitol is in _our_ grasp, we can't have it snatched from us."

"And if we're defeated?"

"You shouldn't even think about that. Have faith in our family. We all want to protect the young citizens of Capitol, that should be our priority."

Doyoung nodded, holding onto the leader's hand. "Of course. I can't imagine what they go through."

"Since the cops can't be trusted," Taeyong sighed, "we're going to be busy for the near future."

* * *

"Let's get this over and done with," said the leader, sitting down.

Their guest looked around, scanning the twenty-three outlaws around him. Taeyong had a look of pride on his face as he rested his hands on the table. A slipped out from Detective Byun's parted lips. "I thought we could talk alone."

"Neo Culture is a family—whatever you say to me, you can say to them."

"Case details are different from normal gossip."

It was evident that the leader wouldn't budge. He looked at the detective with his same indifferent expression.

"Alright," said Detective Byun. "One man in the trade has been identified. His name is Kim Sungho, he's forty-two. He's currently on bail awaiting his trial. He might be able to lead you in the correct direction if you go about this right."

"Information extortion? Great."

As Taeyong spoke, his eyes traveled to Johnny. The elder grinned.

"That's John's specialty."

"Another thing—" said Detective Byun, "—the information for this case is incredibly simple, which leads me to believe that they have an inside ally."

The leader clicked his tongue. "We figured that much already, detective. You law enforcers can't keep your filthy little hands to yourself."

"As I've said, we're not all horrible."

"You've killed a man. I'm sure that means you're on our level."

"I'm not," he said, "you've killed countless people—both directly and indirectly—poison our community and wreak havoc, not to mention you brought drugs and illegal weapons back into the city."

"We're keeping you employed," Jaehyun added.

"Well, he's right," said Taeyong, "but we're stealing your job this time around, we'll destroy this trade."

Detective Byun sat forward, his eyes fixed on the table. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm backing you for once. Given your past, in particular, I have high hopes."

"This isn't about me, we're _all_ going to do this."

"Well, I suppose we should get into the details."

"Go ahead."

"He's employed in a factory just out of the city. I've written his home address and work address, but there's something else. Every Friday and Saturday evening, he visits a local bar. That's actually how he got caught. To put it simply, he was caught in an illegal act and past crimes of the same sort were uncovered. They did some digging, and eventually tied him to a youth disappearance."

"What about the person he abducted?" asked Doyoung, but he was unsure of whether he wanted an answer or not.

"They left a note."

Taeyong raised an eyebrow. "As in... a suicide note?"

"Unfortunately," Detective Byun replied, nodding sheepishly, "they explained everything that happened."

"Johnny, don't hold back on that piece of shit once we track him down. But _don't_ kill him. We need to make the most out of him."

"Understood."

"Anything else, detective?" asked the leader.

"No information," he said, sliding the paper over to Taeyong, "but a friendly warning."

"Oh?"

Detective Byun seemed to hesitate, removing his hands from the table as he looked across at the criminal. "This group—they're dangerous. I suggest that you send out your best men. Maybe refrain from utilizing your younger members for this one task, for their safety."

"That's logical, but I think you're underestimating our strength and abilities."

"I'm merely providing guidance."

"Well, we don't need a cop's guidance. Nonetheless, you've provided useful. If you find any more information, contact us," said Taeyong, "but we need to have a group discussion."

"Well, I'll see myself out. But, the footage—"

"It'll remain a secret."

Standing up, the detective nodded. "Good."

"See you later, detective," Jaehyun taunted, waving slowly as the elder inched towards the door.

When the door finally closed, the room was filled with quiet laughter.

"Cops are so easy," said Johnny.

Taeyong hummed. "They are. Mark, can you and your team leave?"

"But—"

"No buts. I won't risk any of you being snatched. You can focus on our usual business, okay? I'll even let you play with the guns. Deal?"

The caporegime smiled. "Deal."

"Go on then, out. It's time for the adults to talk."

"They _are_ adults," Doyoung reminded him.

"Not to me, they're not," Taeyong replied, watching them leave.

"You can't protect them forever. They can look after themselves," said Kun.

"I'll look out for you all until I physically can't. That's what family is for."

* * *

Exhaling into the cold air, Jaehyun walked beside Yuta. The alleyway before them was dark. The road was narrow and filthy, with bags huddled in a corner, bursting with household discard. The streetlights were dim, hardly providing any aid to them. The sky beyond the totems of artificial lighting was almost entirely black. If it wasn't for the sound of nearby vehicles treading through the stagnant rainwater on the main road, perhaps they'd have been more on edge. But they had a job to do, and they weren't going to let the others down.

Yuta kicked a stone, sending it across the asphalt. "I'm not exactly sure why it'll take two of us to catch some old pervert."

"Maybe Boss is worried that you'll get kidnapped."

"No way—if anybody was going to be kidnapped, it would be you."

A quiet scoff escaped from the younger's lips. "I can fend off a forty-two-year-old creep. I've destroyed plenty of antiques in my time."

"Destroyed? How? Everybody knows that you have a liking for older people. You're going to give him a taste of his own medicine?"

"That's disgusting. Why the hell would I stoop _that_ low?"

"Well," Yuta began, playing with the foldable knife in his pocket, "you seem to have to hots for our big bad leader even though he's taken."

"Are you fucking insane?"

"Or is it Doyoung? You know that Taeyong would kill you if you ever _thought_ about sleeping with him."

"I don't want to sleep with either of them!" Jaehyun insisted.

The elder nodded, an eyebrow raised. He hummed. "Yeah, sure."

"I'm being serious!"

"Then why are you always so in on their business?"

"Because they're my brothers. This gang is all I've got, do you seriously think I'd risk this for the sake of _one_ night?"

"But if it wasn't only one night?" Yuta inquired, obviously just trying to stir trouble like he usually did, "Or, what about a three—"

There was a sound in the distance, and Jaehyun's hand quickly covered the elder's mouth. Yuta soon got the point. They both looked down the alleyway, crouching close to the ground as to not be spotted by whoever the approaching onlooker would be. They had certainly learned not to take any risks over the years, and if they failed to catch the right man, they'd be doomed.

"Who is it?" a man shouted from the darkness, "Get out here, or I'll put a bullet in your head!"

Jaehyun quickly turned to Yuta, his eyes wide and jaw hanging slack. While the latter reached for his gun, the younger shook his head. "Play dead."

"What?"

"Lie down on the floor, quick."

Raising an eyebrow, the elder sighed, getting onto the floor. When it came to what they had to do, be could oblige. They _needed_ to catch that man.

"Help!" Jaehyun shouted, "My friend is injured, please help me!"

Yuta scoffed but received a gentle kick as he rested his head on the asphalt floor. They could hear the man walking closer.

"What happened?" asked the man.

There was no doubt about it. The gun, his clothing; _everything_ about that man screamed rich criminal. The expensive-looking suit and tie, the chain which ran along his chest, and the three rings tightly wrapped around his fingers. From the ground, Yuta observed. He was anticipating Jaehyun's next move.

"It was a car—he hardly escaped a full-on collision," said the latter, sounding genuinely desperate, "they drove off."

"Where's the injury?"

The man knelt beside the older member of Neo Culture, eyes scanning up and down him. Yuta felt his skin crawl. Not wanting to be the reason the lie was revealed, he closed his eyes. He thought looking unconscious would be more believable.

"He hit his head pretty hard, but I'm worried there may be more external wounds."

A hand settled on his side, and Yuta made a mental note to punch Jaehyun later. He was waiting, expecting that the latter would hit him over the head and be done with it. But he didn't. He had no idea what he was planning. Fighting back urges to grab the man's hand, the elder clenched his jaw.

"Maybe it's a good idea for you to go to the pharmacy to get some bandages, it looks like there's some blood soaking through his shirt."

Jaehyun rolled his eyes. What a fool. He _knew_ nothing was wrong with Yuta, he hadn't been injured in any recent conflicts. While they didn't exactly get along, he wasn't going to leave when he knew one of his brothers would be in danger. The younger sneered quietly. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

"What? Didn't you want help?" the man—Kim Sungho—snapped.

"From a rapist? No thanks. Even _I_ wouldn't wish such a vile thing upon a brother. You're on the wrong turf, old man. No—you shouldn't be _anywhere,_ you piece of shit."

Before the man could reach his gun, since Jaehyun had been rather illogical with his direct approach, Yuta kicked his gun out from his gun belt and sat up. When he turned towards him, the firearm had already ceased to move away from him.

"Surprise, bitch."

Jaehyun hit Kim Sungho over his nape with his gun, making the older man shrink forward between he stood up in defense. Pointing the muzzle close to the man's face, a grin grew on his lips. Following the clicking sound of a cocked hammer, Yuta grabbed the other gun from the ground and slid it into his belt.

"You've got nowhere to run now. Unfortunately for you, but you'll be dealt with by somebody who can empathize with your victims' families. I'm sure he'll put you through some wonderful pain if you don't comply with us."

The man's eyes darted down the alleyway, obviously looking for an escape route, but he felt something move closely behind him and his plans were almost immediately sabotaged. Yuta put his arms over his head, a cloth in his grasp. He forced it into the man's mouth—with the aid of Jaehyun—and grabbed his arm, twisting it.

"Can you call Taeil?" asked the elder as he held onto the struggling man.

"He should be doing rounds, I'm sure he'll be here in no time."

Muffled objections escaped even through the cloth, resulting in their newly acquired captive receiving a kick to the back of the knee, sending him down onto the ground. Yuta pulled him up from his knees, his grip tightening around the man's wrist. Jaehyun talked through the phone for a moment, leaving hardly any space for a reaction as minutes later, the sound of tires screeching against the ground could be heard. The black van came to a spot by the exit to the alleyway, and Taeil looked at them, gesturing for them to hurry.

After being dragged into the back of the van, the man was pushed onto the ground with full force by Yuta. They just needed to get back. Jaehyun tied Kim Sungho's hands behind his back with a thick, brittle rope. They all looked unimpressed as they sat down. Taeil looked in the rear-view mirror. "That's exactly what I expected. Old, rotting, grey hairs coming through."

"Do you think this is a good idea?" asked Jaehyun, "Allowing the only father of the gang to deal with the asshole who kidnaps children?"

Yuta shrugged, looking at the two guns on either side of his belt. "He wouldn't want his little princess to get in such a situation, would he? I'm sure he'll break a few of his bones."

"Taeyong chose him for a reason," Taeil replied from the front, "he could have handed him over to Kun's team, but instead he had them set the scene in the basement."

"Johnny will be more enraged. Plus, he _is_ the best at forcing people to talk," said Jaehyun, "but what if he gets carried away?"

Their captive began to squirm, shaking his head vigorously. Yuta kicked him as a warning to stay still. "Let's just trust the boss, okay?"

"He'd punch you if you called him boss in front of him."

"Well, he _isn't_ here, so I don't see the fuss."

Taeil laughed, his eyes fixed on the road. "That's not a good mindset. He finds out everything. We're not led by just anybody."

"I can take a punch," said Yuta.

"Are you sure you won't cry?" asked Jaehyun.

He glared at the younger, shaking his head. Amused from the front, the elder merely tightened his grip on the wheel and smiled, looking through the mirror. His eyes soon averted over to the road beside them. He watched as somebody sped up toward them, wheels screeching against the ground as another one pulled in front of them. In the back, both Jaehyun and Yuta fell forward with the abrupt stop and shouted at their driver.

"Get down!"

The two in the back looked at each other, before hearing an echoing thud of somebody hitting the back of the van. Taeil hissed as he climbed into the back, grabbing an AK-47 from under a seat.

"We've been caught," he warned.

"By who?"

"I'm assuming they're this guy's buddies, not cops."

"What if there's both?" asked Yuta.

"Don't jinx it!"

Taeil looked back at Kim Sungho, sneering at him. "How many of you are there?"

Gaining no response, the eldest instead decided to press the gun against the man's head, making him shake his head once again.

"Time is ticking."

A reply was muffled, so Taeil pulled the cloth out of his mouth. The man coughed. "I don't know, I'm just a collector!"

"Do you know _anything_ about the operations of your business?"

"No! All I know is that there's an auction!"

"Auction?" Yuta spat, "You piece of shit, those kids don't deserve that type of treatment!"

"Who buys them? Is there a specific way into the auction?" asked Taeil.

The man shook his head, his chest rising and falling rapidly. "I don't know! They're usually rich. Some kids are sold to families, not all are given to creeps!"

"None of them should be, asshole!"

"Yuta, leave this to me."

"So, if I was to infiltrate an auction, who would be there?"

"I don't know! I've never been!"

"Taeil," said Jaehyun, looking out of the window, "they're waiting for us to react, I think."

"How many?"

"Around fifteen."

The eldest let out a sigh, taking his gun away from the man. "Anything else you'd like to say?"

"Please don't kill me! I have a wife—"

"Boohoo, I'm sure she wouldn't care if she knew you kidnap children. I meant anything that will helpus _crush_ your business."

"Crush?" he asked, "I thought you wanted to buy—"

"What the hell do I look like to you?" Taeil spat.

"They're moving," Jaehyun whispered.

The eldest returned the cloth to Kim Sungho's mouth, gripping onto the AK in his grasp.

"Open the door! We know you have Kim!"

Eyes landed on Taeil, with both Yuta and Jaehyun unsure of what to do. He sighed. "Call Taeyong, keep him on quiet but don't mute the call. He needs to know what is happening."

The youngest obliged, taking out his phone. There was another bang on the door and an attempt to open it. Yuta looked under the chair, pulling out another gun.

"If you return that old bastard to us, we won't send you all to hell."

They were each surprised at how young the man on the other side sounded.

"He's on call," said Jaehyun, lifting the phone to his ear, "we have a situation."

_"What?"_

Taeyong sounded irritated, but it didn't really surprise him. "We've been ambushed. They're asking us to return Kim Sungho."

_"Who is? His team?"_

"I assume so."

_"Has he spoken?"_

Taeil took the phone out of Jaehyun's grasp. "He doesn't know much, but there's an auction. Should we kill him and throw him out to his men?"

_"He'll probably be killed anyway since he's talked. Can you drive away?"_

"If I want a bullet in my lobe, then yeah. They're ahead and behind us."

Taeyong groaned, audibly slamming his hand down onto a surface. They heard mumbling from the other side, and Taeil was sure he could hear Doyoung. _"Go out with your hands up. I'll send backup. You all have bulletproof vests on, right?"_

"I think."

_"I'll track your location, but please refrain from calling me. I'm a little bit busy right now."_

"Right, sorry."

The phone hung up, and Taeil passed it back to Jaehyun. He chuckled and shook his head. Placing the AK down, the elder grabbed their captive.

"We interrupted something, but he's sending backup. We need to surrender."

"What? Surrender?" Yuta exclaimed, "Why?"

"Because we need to buy time. Open the door."

"But—"

"Taeyong's orders. Open the damn door before I put you through it."

Yuta frowned, unlocking the door as Kim Sungho was forced to stand. Jaehyun pushed his phone out of sight and stood behind them. When the door opened, the people on the other side put up their guns, but seeing how the man they were after was pushed out, they were ordered to lower them. Taeil pushed the man forward, forcing him onto the ground as the three of them stood behind him.

"Lose your guns."

Yuta took the two guns from his belt and Jaehyun took his one gun and placed it on the ground, pushing it towards the young-looking man.

"The knife too," he said to Yuta.

The latter sighed but threw his knife onto the ground.

"Who are you?"

Taeil looked around, making a mental note of each and every one of the oppositions around them. "Bounty hunters."

"Bounty hunters, hey? It's illegal here."

"Well, we have an underground trade."

The man laughed, returning his gun to his belt. "I know you're members of Neo Culture, there's no need to lie. You're practically royalty in Capitol."

"I wouldn't say that," Yuta scoffed.

"If you want to leave, feel free to. We have our own business to deal with. But if you appear before me _ever_ again in this manner, I'll blow each of your brains out, alright?"

It hurt his pride too, but Jaehyun nodded. They didn't need to get into an unnecessary conflict when they had their information. They'd just have to be smart and prepare for a situation to arise in the future.

The man called for one of his lackeys and said something to him quietly. He took out his gun, which alerted Jaehyun, who quickly picked up his gun. Taken aback when it was pointed at Kim Sungho, the three onlookers watched as he shot him in the head.

"Go on, leave. We can deal with this."

Taeil hesitantly walked back to the van, heading over to the driver's side to climb in. With the other two getting into the back, he furrowed his eyebrows, looking back with a puzzled expression. "What the hell just happened?"

"We just lost our information source, that's what."

"He probably didn't know anything else," said Yuta, "but if the backup is on its way—"

"I'll call Taeyong."

Taeil laughed. "Good luck, he's with Doyoung."

"So, we're out here getting into dangerous situations while those two are going at it?"

"They missed each other."

"Normally a hug or two would suffice."

* * *

Taeyong sighed, his hand running through Doyoung's hair as the younger sat beside him, his eyes gently closed with his head resting on the leader's shoulder. Upon hearing him, Doyoung sat up, eyebrows gently furrowed. "What's the matter?"

"It's just the guys who were hunting Kim Sungho down. I'm worried they'll be injured."

"I'm sure they'll be fine, they know what they're doing."

"I know," said Taeyong, "but I don't want anybody to get hurt."

"Then we're in the wrong line of work."

The elder looked down, he knew it was a given that they were at risk of an injury. "I guess I should have some faith in them, right?"

"Right," the advisor nodded, "though, it wouldn't surprise me if Yuta and Jaehyun were exchanging snarky comments the whole time—I don't know why their friendship has deteriorated."

"It's probably something foolish, knowing them."

Doyoung hummed. Taeyong slipped his arm around the younger's waist and pulled him closer. The latter rolled his eyes, nonetheless, he allowed himself to sit closer by his side.

"Tomorrow, we're going back to normal. No excessive cuddling, you know I'm not a cuddly bear."

"Right," said the leader, planting a kiss on his boyfriend's lips, "noted."

"Fewer cuddles, more leading. We both have our duties. But one thing will be different—I have you back, and I'm not planning on losing you again. Stop trying to solve every problem alone. There's a reason why there's twenty-three of us, it's to _share_ the work and be a family."

"I may be the leader, but you're the brains. I'll trust you to make the call this time around."

The younger smiled. "Good. You're the strong fist, so leave the thinking to me before somebody gets hurt."

"Doie, are you trying to take my job?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Maybe you're having dominance struggles up there," said Taeyong, tapping the advisor's head.

Doyoung merely scoffed, standing up. He looked back to see the elder watching him. "Believe me, I'm not."

"Good."

"Let's go and wait for the others, okay? Stop being weird."

"I'm not being weird, I'm being myself."

"Exactly."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story now has a [Concept FMV](https://youtu.be/Ugg1AoBsDpY)! Please check it out.
> 
> Please let me know your thoughts about this chapter! :)


	3. Ghost Of The Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Slight non-graphic mature content._

Taeyong was taken aback when Taeil, Jaehyun, and Yuta filtered into the meeting room, each looking entirely unimpressed by the mission that they had been sent on. The leader immediately stood up, anticipating some kind of sign from the others. "So, what happened?"

"They just let us go. They killed Kim Sungho—but they knew who we were. Taeil tried to lie saying we were bounty hunters," Jaehyun replied.

"Couldn't you have thought of something more believable?" asked Doyoung.

Taeil avoided eye contact with the advisor, fixing his gaze on the ground.

"That's not important," said Taeyong, "you did well."

"Anyway, what did Kim Sungho say? In detail."

"Well, as was already mentioned, there's an auction. The children that they take from the streets don't _only_ get sold into the pedophile trade, they're also sold to families—I'm assuming those families can't conceive or something along that line," said the eldest, "he didn't know how to get into the auction, or where it was."

"So, he was pretty useless, then?"

Taeil nodded. "I suppose."

"An auction?" Taeyong pondered, spinning his pen. "We'll have to do more digging. This may be bigger than we anticipated."

"I could contact Detective Byun again, ask if he has any information?" asked Yuta.

"Alright, you do that. Have a rest first. You too, Jaehyun, Taeil. Have a rest."

Watching as they left the room as quickly as they entered, Doyoung sighed, turning to look at his boyfriend. Taeyong's eyes met his and he blinked, waiting.

"That was a waste of time and resources."

"At least one scumbag was wiped from the street. We know what we're looking for now, an auction."

"What do you expect to do once we find the auction?"

The elder sat back, reaching for his cigarette box. "Infiltrate and destroy."

"What about the children? Are you going to start an orphanage for them? Close your good deeds off full circle?"

"No, we'll return them to their parents or hand them to the police. There's no way on _earth_ that the children's services would allow me—or any of the others, for that matter—to look after children that aren't our own. They'd tell us we're bad examples."

Doyoung chuckled. "They even give Johnny a tough time, and he's Jieun's father by blood. Who would have thought that they discriminate based on occupation?"

"We're criminals, Doie. It's not that surprising."

"Yet here we are, _saving_ people."

"We've never harmed kids, I don't know why it's such a big deal. Plus, we're shutting down a business which is bringing fifth into Capitol, it keeps us on top."

"I just hope this heroic act doesn't backfire."

* * *

"Why did you call me?" asked Jeno, eyebrows furrowed as he looked at his elder, "I was supposed to deal—"

Mark placed his finger over his lips, pulling the younger beside him. Jeno looked up as a revolver was placed into his grasp. Before he could ask any questions, he heard a car door slam shut. That was certainly odd. He looked around the corner just in time to see a tall man pass his shorter acquaintance a stack of money. Upon quickly flicking through the notes, the money was dropped into a bag which gave both onlookers the impression that they were a woman. The man lit a cigarette, watching his acquaintance as they fixed their hood.

"In the car," a feminine voice spoke, "it's what you asked for—two lots in the crate."

"I'll be confirming that first, you're a sly woman. I wouldn't want to lose a few thousand now, would I?"

The car door opened once again. The man leaned in, gripping his fingers under the lid of the wooden crate. Both onlookers were taken aback as the woman took out a gun fixed with a silencer, and Jeno looked at Mark. The latter motioned for him to stay quiet, worried about being caught. The gunshot was muffled but still audible as the man was shot in the back. He slipped onto the ground. It wasn't as though they'd never witnessed a murder before—and Mark had even participated in one—but they were confused. Mark's first thought was to take a photograph to report back to the others.

He fumbled taking out his phone. The cold air had been biting at his fingers, making his leather fingerless gloves rather useless. Jeno watched as the elder, drawing a deep breath as the device slid through his chilled fingers, colliding with the floor. The woman paused as she attempted to pull the body up from the ground. She turned around, scanning the area. Mark and Jeno each pressed their backs against the wall in an attempt to remain unseen. It was all in vain, however, as the woman walked over and looked at them, crossing her arms across her chest. She looked the two up and down for a moment, eyes landing on the revolver in Jeno's grasp, and soon realized that Mark also held a gun, though it had been abandoned on the ground beside his phone.

She picked up the device, turning on the screen. "Who are you with?"

"What?"

"Don't play dumb, kid. Not just anybody walks around with firearms in a country where it's illegal."

Mark sighed bitterly, clenching his fist. "Neo Culture."

"Now, that's a nice surprise," she smiled, handing him his phone, "let me guess, you were going to report me to your boss for dealing with money in your zone-right?"

The silence spoke louder than a thousand words. She nodded, the smile not leaving her face.

"I wouldn't bother, I know Taeyong. The name's Jennie. Tell your boss that we're back in town, he'll know what I mean," she said, "oh, and I wouldn't worry about him back there, he's your opposition."

"I'll need you to be more specific than that," said Mark, trying to _not_ stay quiet and damage his pride.

She chuckled. "Remember this-the Serpent's Eyes."

"The Serpent-" he paused, "are you trying to make a fool of me?"

"I would never."

"Let's trust her," said Jeno, "it might be important."

"Perhaps," said Jennie, "now, if you don't mind, I have a body to dispose of."

Mark stood up. While he didn't understand what Jennie was saying—nor did he even know what or who the "Serpent's Eyes" was—he expected that perhaps Taeyong or the other elders would. He hated feeling out of sync with what was going on. It turned out that as the more trusted capo, even _he_ wasn't completely in the loop. He looked at Jeno and they walked away. At least none of them were hobbling with a bullet in their leg.

"Well, do you think she's telling us useful information?" asked Mark.

The younger was taken aback. "I don't think it's my place to decide whether it's useful or not."

The capo made eye contact with him and shook his head. "Why are you always like this? It's not as though you _can't_ give your opinion. Even the elders respect everybody's opinions."

"I just suppose I'm used to being somebody who follows orders rather than makes choices."

"I don't know what your life was like before you joined Neo Culture, but you don't have to be so locked up. Jaemin has been trying to get through to you for months, and you keep shrugging it off."

"It's a long story."

"Well, when you feel that you can trust me, you _can_ tell me, you know? Especially if it's something which will impact your productivity."

Jeno nodded, "understood."

"Now," said Mark, walking out onto the street, "I know you're a serious person, but who do you think Jennie is? How does she know Taeyong?"

"Maybe an ex?"

"Now—that would be disastrous."

"She seemed to be in the field. I'm betting on acquaintance, just somebody who knows what we do."

"Yeah, maybe."

* * *

Attention was grabbed as Mark's team entered, trailing behind their leader. Immediately in the hall, Johnny's eyes landed on the recent arrivals and walked over. "That took longer than usual to deal with the junkies."

"We were held up," Mark replied, "do you know somebody called Jennie?"

"Jennie?" asked the elder, his expression immediately changing to one unreadable to the team leader, "There's nobody in the founders who _doesn't_ know Jennie."

"We came across her on the street. She shot a man, and she told us to tell Taeyong that she's back in town. It sounded like she wasn't alone."

"She won't be, in this world, nobody acts alone. She has three partners in crime."

"So, she isn't Taeyong's ex?" asked Jeno.

Mark's eyes immediately widened. "Jeno—"

"No," Johnny chuckled, "how many exes do you think he has?"

"I'm sure he doesn't have that many," said Mark.

He had a reputation to maintain, and that meant _not_ landing on the wrong side of the founders. Johnny merely laughed at his nervousness and cast an arm around his shoulder, pulling him over to the meeting room.

"Emergency meeting! Founders and whoever met Jennie come into the room. Anyone else beat it—" he paused, "not literally."

Jeno followed behind them both, watching as the founders walked over to the meeting room.

"I'll get Taeyong and Doyoung," said Johnny, pushing Mark toward the door, "go inside and wait."

And so they did. Satisfied, he made his way over to the leader's office down the hall. He tried the door, and upon finding it locked, he held his ear to the door. It sounded safe.

"Taeyong," he knocked, "Mark and Jeno have something to report."

He heard movement on the other side and stood back, waiting as the door was opened. Taeyong looked around, looking for the two. "Can't they come here?"

"It's something all of the founders should hear."

That was the only indication he needed. He turned around, heading over to the couch, and leaned down, kissing Doyoung as the latter lay asleep. "We have a meeting."

"Now?" the younger asked sleepily.

"I can tell you later if you'd like?"

He shook his head. "No, what good is a sleeping advisor? I'm coming."

Johnny had already walked over to the meeting room. He didn't want to stand there staring, so he decided to leave. They soon walked into the meeting room anyway, a yawn escaping Doyoung's mouth as he walked over to the table.

"Were you up all night? Do I want to know what you were doing?" asked Yuta.

Taeyong sighed, sitting down at the head of the table. "Use your imagination."

"Mark, tell everybody what happened," said Johnny.

"Well, uh," he began, "we were dealing, like usual."

"Of course."

"I saw a woman and a man meeting in a back alleyway, so I obviously observed, since I didn't know where they both belonged to. They seemed to be making some kind of deal, so I called Jeno for backup since _we_ lead the trade around here."

He looked up to check if everyone was listening, and Taeyong nodded at him to continue.

"The woman shot the man and found us when I was trying to call you," he said, "I had to tell her who we were and she said she knew you."

"And she was?"

"Jennie, she told us to tell you that 'we're back in town'."

He nodded. "And the man?"

"Dead. She told us he was our opposition."

"Right. Good work, but next time, don't try to call me. I trust you, Mark. Make your own decisions. After all, you _will_ be leading Neo Culture if I die."

"There's one more thing," said Mark, "she mentioned 'The Serpent's Eyes'."

Doyoung turned to the leader with wide eyes. The latter let out a sigh and shook his head in disbelief. "So, that's what we're dealing with?"

"What is that?" asked Jaehyun.

"Mark, Jeno, you can leave now. Good work."

"This is the part when you tell us about the villain, isn't it?" asked Yuta.

Taeyong's lip quirked into a smirk. "We're not the most popular group of people alive, you know. We have plenty of enemies. More than the average person. When you share eye contact with somebody in the street, assume the worst. Don't trust them unless you have a damn good reason to."

"You're going off-topic," Doyoung noted.

"Right," the leader sighed, "The Serpent's Eyes. A complex bunch. _Really_ complex. But I'll put it simply."

The others were waiting in anticipation, but Doyoung had an all-knowing expression. He sat against the back of his chair with his arms crossed.

"They're a bunch of nonsensical preachers with a superiority complex. They're control freaks looking to be some all-important beings."

"They're... religious?"

"If you can call it that. We're not talking about some God-worshipping loonies, they worship a living man—their leader. They're man-worshipping loonies."

"I hate to ask this," said Yuta, "but... how do you know that?"

"You were all thinking it," Taeyong shrugged, "and honesty is vital, but it's not my story to tell."

Eyes shifted to Doyoung. The advisor gave his boyfriend a gaze that would make any of the others shrink back and hide for a week, but Taeyong merely smiled at him reassuringly. Doyoung let out a bitter sigh. "It's nothing _too_ horrible. My uncle got pulled in by them. He was in debt at the time and they promised him wealth, but down the line, they told him that they knew he had two young nephews, and asked him to bring me and my brother in."

"Did he?" asked Johnny.

"No, he told them that he wouldn't, and they killed him."

"Wait, what if they're the ones we're facing now?" asked Jaehyun.

Taeyong sighed. "Aren't you just a genius? They _must_ be."

"To make it worse, they approached my brother a few years later, but he punched some sense into one of them and walked away."

"Back up a bit, you said it wasn't too bad, but your uncle was murdered and if he wasn't, you might have been—"

" _Johnny,_ close your mouth before I punch you into next week," Taeyong warned.

"I didn't really know him," Doyoung replied, shrugging, "am I supposed to care when he got himself into that mess, to begin with?"

"You're heartless," Taeil sighed.

"I'm not overly sensitive, there's a difference."

"There's nothing wrong with being a little bit soft," Yuta added.

Taeyong sighed, shaking his head. "Let's move on. So, Jennie is back. Do we work to repair our old partnership? I'm sure we could do with a reliable weapon dealer."

"The only reason the partnership was broken was down to clashing pride," said Doyoung.

"Everything was constantly a competition," Jaehyun smiled at the memory. "But if they're back from America, there must be a reason."

"Perhaps they're here to deal with the Serpents?" Johnny suggested.

"Maybe. I know Chaeyoung, in particular, has a grudge against them. A similar story to Doyoung's uncle, but closer to home," said the leader.

"We should track them down," Doyoung suggested, "or lure them to us."

Taeyong shook his head. "Are you forgetting something? We have Byun to do our digging. Taeil, give him a call."

The elder nodded, slipping out of the door. The leader looked over his team and back to the advisor.

"Any additional points?"

"None right now."

"Then," said Taeyong, "meeting dismissed, get back to work."

* * *

A harsh sigh slipped out from Ten's lips as he stood leaning against Johnny's car, taking in the fresh air as they waited in the school car park.

"If you were going to be so miserable, why did you come?" asked the elder, turning back to face the other.

"Because of all the crap happening these days. Two will always be stronger than one."

"You think they'll target a gangster's daughter?"

"If they have the law shoved up their rear end, I wouldn't put the idea past them. Just think about it, they'll practically have a knife at our throats if that happens," Ten replied.

Johnny sighed, obviously not as happy about the conversation. "If it did happen, which it won't, I'd deal with it on my own. I'll kill those bastards before they can even lay a finger on Jieun."

"You know—if something happened—I'd help you, right?"

"Are you _planning_ for my daughter to be abducted?"

"I'm raising an issue that I know the others have thought about. If the fight gets closer, you might have to shield her for a while."

"I'm sure her mother would _love_ that."

"Rather be safe than sorry."

"I suppose," said the elder, "but you'd be more motherly."

Ten furrowed his eyebrows. "Are you suggesting something?"

"If you weren't too busy taking it up the ass from Kun, I wouldn't object to having you around."

"Thanks?"

Hearing the gate open, Johnny turned around. He watched the crowd of excited children as they dissipated toward their parents. He heard Ten chuckle behind him, seeing Jieun's face light up when she saw her father. Johnny knelt on the ground with his arms open. She soon ran into them, hugging him tightly.

"Did you have a good day?" he asked.

She nodded. "We had an extended break because the teachers were talking."

"Really? That's great. Did anybody bother you today?"

"No! Jihoon apologized and we played together."

Ten raised an eyebrow. Johnny made it his job to meddle and protect Jieun.

"That's good, but be careful with him. I don't want you running away with a boy until you're at least twenty," the father affirmed, making his daughter laugh.

"I won't leave you, papa."

"Come on, let's take you to the big house before your mother comes to get you. I brought uncle Ten, you can annoy him."

Ten shook his head as Jieun cheered and hugged his leg. "Uncle Ten!"

"Do you want to play hide and seek again when we get to the house?"

"Yes!"

* * *

Doyoung was lying on the bed, his phone gripped in his hands when the door opened. He looked over to see Taeyong's hair messily resting on his forehead, dripping with water as he had a towel around his neck. He was only wearing his jeans—which made the advisor raise an eyebrow.

"Weren't you going to sleep?" asked Taeyong as he sat on the bed, his back facing the younger.

"I was, but my nap earlier ruined that plan."

Doyoung put his phone away, looking at the tattoo on his boyfriend's back as the latter dried his hair. He moved over, slipping his arms around the elder's waist. Taeyong let out a quiet laugh, let his towel to rest around his neck so he could grab the advisor's hand to intertwine their fingers. Doyoung's chin rested on his shoulder, his eyes closed gently.

"You really have become more clingy," said the leader, lifting their joined hands so he could plant a kiss on the back of the younger's hand, "are you sure you're alright?"

"We're going back to normal tomorrow. I'm making the most out of it."

"When I'm trying to dry my hair?"

"Is that an issue?" asked Doyoung, removing his arms.

Taeyong sighed, turning to face him. "Of course not. It can wait."

But the advisor never moved from where he was, he was too busy looking at the flesh branding on his boyfriend's chest, the Korean character for "dragon" scarred into his skin. The elder noticed and looked down at it, his lips curving into a frown.

"Why did he do it?" asked Doyoung, "You're his son."

"Was," the elder corrected.

"He didn't need to do that. You have his blood."

"And blood never betrays? The blood of a bastard son, at that."

The younger sighed. "Does _anybody_ know who your mother is? She might still be alive—"

"I don't care if she's alive. She left me on my gangster father's doorstep. The son of the leader of the Dragons? I'm the accidental son of a prostitute and a mafia boss. Nothing more, nothing less."

"You're Taeyong, and you're perfect as you are."

"What about you? You have an alcoholic father."

"What about me?" Doyoung furrowed his eyebrows.

"Sungchan, too. I had to punch the shit out of his father in his own living room for hitting him."

"What's your point?"

"We all come from crappy backgrounds. There's no need to hold onto the past. I don't care if my mother is alive and she might as well be dead to me," Taeyong replied.

Doyoung knew he didn't like talking about his parents. Most of Neo Culture didn't. They turned a blind eye, ignoring the past. The leader liked to say to live in the future, but Doyoung _couldn't_. It was in his blood to question the past. But he didn't want the elder to be annoyed.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up..."

"It's alright," said Taeyong, "you're a curious guy, I'm not angry."

"I can leave you for a bit if you want?" asked Doyoung, standing up.

The leader grabbed his arm, pulling him back. "It's fine, seriously. Why would I want you to leave? We only have tonight before your cuddliness expires."

"That's right, we do."

The younger placed his hand behind Taeyong's neck, running his fingers along as he moved himself between the leader's legs.

"What's on schedule for the rest of the day?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, you'd have to check the calendar."

Doyoung rolled his eyes. "Can we afford to go off plan for a while?"

"Doie. I love you, but I've just showered."

The younger looked at the clock, to which Taeyong shook his head in disbelief. Six hours left of the day.

"What would the others say if they knew how easy you are?"

"Probably nothing. They can't go behind their leader's back, can they?"

"No; I hope they have the decency to stay away from my boyfriend."

Doyoung shrugged, his hand falling still on the back of Taeyong's neck. "I'm not sure, I could always test that theory."

"You scheming little slut."

The advisor's grin caused the elder to scoff. Taeyong shuffled further back on the bed and pulled Doyoung in his direction.

"You act like this composed brainiac, but really, you're just as desperate as the rest of us for some action," said the leader as the younger made his way up his body.

Their lips met and Taeyong's hands rest on either side of Doyoung's waist, holding him to deter the latter from making any unnecessary movements. But being the daring, non-abiding person he was, the advisor began to grind on his boyfriend, forcing the elder to take his lips away to breathe for a moment, a quiet moan slipping out.

"If you don't have your cool-down, you'll start acting like some tough thug. It's my job to keep you from losing control."

He knew Doyoung was right, but his attempts at hiding how he _really_ was just the same as everybody else were all in vain. Taeyong forced himself up, lips connecting with the younger's neck and gently trailing down to his collarbone. The advisor drew a breath briskly as he began to suck on the flesh. He ran his hands up the leader's bare chest, pulling the towel from around his neck. It was mere moments before his hands traveled down and gripped onto the button on Taeyong's jeans, trying to pull them loose. He felt the elder smirk against his collarbone and he let go, resting his head against the bed, waiting in anticipation.

Eventually successful, Doyoung half tugged Taeyong's jeans down before returning to kissing him, pressing their bodies together. He rested a hand on the side of the elder's face to deepen the kiss, letting accidental moans escape in the process. With Taeyong's grip latched onto him, he soon felts hands run up his body and return down to pull his shirt away. After throwing it aside, he pushed Doyoung up to sit up straight, ignoring the pressure dangerously close to his crotch as he propped himself up.

"Take the rest off for me," said the leader, watching as the younger dared run his hands along his legs.

If not for the obstructions, Taeyong would have pushed Doyoung down onto the bed long ago. Maybe even as soon as he came back if the advisor had been ready, _waiting_ for him. But he knew he wouldn't do that. He didn't like to seem desperate. He watched as the younger threw his jeans aside and continued to remove the remaining layers before Doyoung's fingers found their way over the rim of the leader's boxers.

"We have under six hours now. How far into tomorrow we sleep is decided by how long you can take me for—deal?" asked Taeyong.

"Game on."

* * *

An exasperated sigh escaped Doyoung's lips, shuffling in discomfort on his seat. Taeyong was smoking a cigarette beside him, sat back against the seat in the bar. After some _convincing_ on Taeil's behalf, Detective Byun agreed to do Neo Culture's dirty work—kind of—and deliver Jennie to them. It simply involved him tricking her, and taking her to the bar, one which Neo Culture owned, yet left the management to an outsider. The leader turned around, smiled at his boyfriend's struggle to sit still, and kissed him on the lips.

"Next time, don't agree to a challenge."

"You know I don't like losing, you use that against me."

Taeyong clicked his tongue, shaking his head playfully. "If I recall correctly, last night you _did_ ask me to... what was it? Destroy you, I believe."

Yuta almost spat out his drink on a table across from them.

"If you continue acting like this you won't even see my body for a month," Doyoung warned through gritted teeth, his face turning a light shade of pink.

"Alright, calm down." Taeyong threw his hands up in defense.

Smiling in accomplishment, the advisor folded his arms and sat up straight. "Also, no public affection, remember?"

"Do Yuta, Kun, and Xiaojun count as public? No, they're family."

"No affection in front of the family is included in that list."

"Why are you so set on being seen as some composed big-brain guy?" asked Taeyong, leaning forward enough so their noses were almost touching. "You weren't like that last night."

Doyoung rolled his eyes. "I'll deal with you later. We have a job to do right now."

"Oh?"

"Can you _stop_?" asked Kun, "This isn't the place or time to have all of this sexual tension in the atmosphere."

"You're just jealous because Ten isn't here," said Taeyong.

The younger sighed, nodding. "Alright. And if I am?"

"You two still aren't together," the leader shrugged.

"Because I want Ten to be sure he wants to be with me. I know he's used to being flirty with everyone."

Doyoung tensed up beside Taeyong. Everything may have been in the past, but he couldn't forget the time he'd caught the leader—before they were together—being intimate with Ten. But he tried not to get jealous every time they crossed each other's presence in the hallway, sharing a glance. He knew that Ten wouldn't make a move. He _knew_ he could trust him, but it didn't stop him from feeling the need to keep them as far away from each other as possible. He also trusted Taeyong; he wasn't the type to break somebody's heart.

"It's in his nature as our best infiltrator. You'd have to accept that he gets himself in situations you _probably_ won't like."

"I know that I'm more concerned that he doesn't want to be with me."

The leader shrugged. "Give him time. He'll tell you what he wants when he figures it out himself."

As if on cue, the door swung open. Eyes averted to the front of the room as they heard a woman curse. Byun walked in moments later, a grip on the handcuffs which kept Jennie's hands from harming the detective.

"That's no way to treat a guest," said Taeyong, squishing his cigarette on the table, "be a gentleman, lock the door, and set her free, Byun."

A key was thrown in his direction and he caught it, watching as Taeyong signaled for the bar's manager to leave the room. Six criminals and a detective remained in the room. They fell into an uneasy silence as Detective Byun unlocked the handcuffs, taking them away from the severely irritated woman.

"I spare your men, and _this_ is how you repay me?" Jennie spat.

"No friendly hello?"

She scoffed, looking at the five members of Neo Culture. "I'm amazed you think it takes so many people to contain me."

"We're not only dealing with you, but we also have work to do."

"You have the law on your side?" she eyed up Byun, who was merely stood to the side.

"Byun, leave. Into the back."

"What?"

"You can't witness this, can you? Go and give the manager some company."

He sighed, walking to the door behind the bar. Taeyong looked back at Jennie, sitting up straight where he sat. "How do you feel about fixing our damaged partnership?"

"Are you _kidding_ me? You tricked me into thinking I was being arrested for murder for _that_?"

"We did."

"I helped those kids of yours because they were pitiful, not to aid you. I gave you some information. That's all."

"The Serpent's Eyes," said Taeyong abruptly, "are they the child traffickers?"

"Listen, Taeyong. I'm not sure what your goal is, or _why_ you're sticking your nose into cop business, but you're going to get your men killed if you shove that nose of yours any further into this mess."

"We won't let Capitol fall into the grip of a bunch of lunatics who kidnap and sell our city's young."

"Have fun with that, but I'm not risking my life for your heroic cause, nor will I throw my team into a death trap. Yes, the Serpent guys are the child traffickers. Now let me go."

"Wait," said Taeyong, "we need guns."

"Money? Now we're talking."

The leader sighed, picking up a briefcase from the ground. "We need as many AK's and bullets as you can get your hands on."

"I can get you two dozen. Bullets, I'll throw in as many as I can find. But it'll cost you a decent sum."

"I'll need numbers."

"We're talking four digits. AK's aren't cheap."

"What about a friendly discount?" 

Jennie shook her head, scoffing in disbelief. "A friendly discount and a bullet through your skull."

"Alright—no discount."

"I want two thousand. Twenty-four AK's and a crate of bullets, including delivery and a cash apology for tricking me."

"Deal," said Taeyong, standing up.

He shuffled from behind the bar table, walking over to Jennie. He held his hand out, to which she hesitantly shook, rolling her eyes at the formality.

"Give me three days. I'll contact you when they're ready."


	4. Assassination

When Doyoung woke up with his head on a table, he immediately groaned and forced his stiff body up from the surface. He rubbed his neck, groaning in discomfort as he looked around the meeting room. Somehow, he, Taeyong, Johnny, and Jaehyun had ended up falling asleep in there. He was the first to awaken, and rather than wake them up, he walked over to the door and left. When he exited into the hallway, he scanned it for anybody around.

It sounded awfully quiet for a building where twenty-three people lived, crammed into repurposed rooms at roughly two or three per room. Sure, it was a mansion, but it wasn't _huge._ It was far enough out of the city to not be swarmed by cops at the slightest movement, but still rather small as it was surrounded by trees. He walked far enough down the hallway to hear some voices and walked into the kitchen.

"Morning," Doyoung sighed unenthusiastically as he looked at Taeil, Sicheng, and Yuta, who was at the makeshift breakfast bar.

"Have you healed a little?" asked Yuta.

The eldest nudged him, but he merely shrugged.

"Obviously. Now stop asking personal questions."

"I asked _one._ "

"Well, one's more than enough from you."

"You and Taeyong tend to keep people awake, I'm just concerned."

"That's a place on my body you _don't_ need to be concerned about. Move rooms if you're that bothered about the noise."

Taeil chuckled while Sicheng was completely uninterested. The former nudged Yuta again, and the Japanese rolled his eyes.

"What's the plan for today?" asked Sicheng.

Doyoung sighed. "Why does everybody ask me? I'm not a calendar."

"Isn't it the brain of the gang's job to manage what your violence-thirsty boyfriend does, too? Last time he didn't listen to you, he was strapped in a chair for three days," said Yuta.

"I'm aware," the advisor groaned.

"And the time before that, he almost got himself killed."

"Yuta," said Sicheng, "I think he knows, he was there"

"To answer the question, there's nothing happening today. Do what you want, but be prepared for a call if something changes."

Satisfied, Yuta nodded and jumped from his seat, followed by Sicheng. Taeil stood up, but he pulled Doyoung aside as the others walked away. "I'm sorry about him, I don't think he realizes the gravity of what he's saying half of the time."

"It's fine, I know Taeyong's an idiot. That's why he needs me."

"Hey!" said idiot called from the hallway, "That's not nice."

"I'll leave you to it."

"Wow, thanks," said the advisor.

Taeyong walked over, his offend becoming a small grin as he slipped his arms around Doyoung's waist. "Nobody is here, you can't call this public."

"Did you sleep well?"

"No, I woke up with a pen in my face. Did you leave the room?"

The younger hummed. "I was getting a drink."

"Johnny has his arm around Jaehyun, I think they'll be screaming when they wake up."

"That'll be good," Doyoung laughed.

Taeyong planted a gentle kiss on the advisor's cheek and grinned. They stood in comfortable silence for a while, Doyoung's hands resting on either side of the elder's body as he closed his eyes. There was laughing from behind them and the advisor's eyes shot open before he quickly moved away from his boyfriend.

"It's rude to stare," he said sternly, arms crossed as he looked at the youngest two, Chenle and Jisung.

"You're stood in a house with twenty-one other people aside from you two, somebody's bound to come downstairs and see you cuddling in the kitchen doorway," the elder of the two teens laughed.

Doyoung looked at the leader for some backup, but he merely shrugged. "I love you, I don't care if they see us hugging."

There were some noises of disproval. The advisor rolled his eyes and returned to the fridge, pouring a glass of water. The two teens began to mind their own business as Doyoung walked away from the counter with his drink. Walking back into the hallway, he was followed by Taeyong quickly jogged ahead towards his office, opening the door for the younger.

"You're in a weird mood," Doyoung noted.

"No, I'm not. I'm just energized."

"Jesus Christ, how the hell can you have so much energy after the other day? I'm still worn out as though I've run a marathon three days in a row."

"There's lots more energy where that came from."

"Keep it there."

Taeyong chuckled. "Understood."

Doyoung watched as the elder sat down behind his desk and sat opposite, taking a sip of his water as the leader stretched his arms out. The advisor's head was going at the speed of light. They were either more coordinated than they thought or just darn lucky.

"I know I don't say this a lot. Well, at all, really," he began, "but I do love you."

"Now you're in a weird mood. I know you do. You're not verbal—I get it."

"So, that's why I'm asking you to maybe consider handing this job over to the police."

Taeyong's expression immediately shifted into a frown. Doyoung could tell what would follow, so he held his breath and sat back in his chair.

"Hand it to the police? Have you _seen_ how many kids have been going missing? They ain't doing shit!"

"But you're reckless, Taeyong. You don't think about the consequences."

"This city is corrupt. It's filled to the brim with cops doing drugs, buying firearms, and _literally_ attacking people! You can't expect me to trust those assholes. Not in a million years."

The advisor knew he was right—and despite his recklessness, he often was-and looked down at the desk. He had to take a deep breath and remind himself of why they were having that conversation. "I don't want to lose you. You've been at gunpoint so many times already. The leader is the most likely to be killed; I want us to live long lives together—"

"Want never gets. Stop being selfish, Doie, there are innocent kids out there being put through hell because of our inaction. We run these streets. Capitol is _ours,_ and I won't let anybody take what we earned away," Taeyong snapped. "You signed up for this when you got in with the founders."

"I know, but—"

"But nothing. I've seen you spit blood everywhere. I've seen you get thrown around by pieces of shit on the street. But I _know_ I can protect you, it's my job as the leader of this whole outlaw empire we've made. You're not the only one who could lose somebody."

"Say we do succeed, what then? Do you think the police will turn a blind eye to everything we did to get to that point? All the murder, maybe even arson. They'll send the public security bunch in if we draw attention to ourselves. You know what happens to a gangster in prison?"

"You get challenged. I know."

Doyoung hummed. "What happened last time you were in for assault and possession of firearms?"

"I get your point, but I won't back down. That's not the Neo Culture style and you know it."

The door burst open and Taeyong sighed. He was about to shout at the cause of the sudden invasion, but then he acknowledged the stunned expression on Taeil's face. "One of our of our associates have been murdered."

"Which one?"

"Park. The politician."

"See what I mean?" Doyoung exclaimed.

"Not now, Doie. Where is he?"

"That's not all," said Taeil. "Byun said he had a note on his body. It said 'Peace-seeker Park has a coalition with convicts'."

"Meaning us?"

The eldest shrugged. "I can only assume so."

"It's good they never name-dropped. That's saved us from the press's eyes."

"How should we respond?"

"Destroy any evidence of communication. If the good cops catch a whiff of rats in their sewers, they'll bring in the big dogs, and that's the last thing we need."

"Also," said Doyoung, "get Byun to check for a face, we need to know our enemy."

Taeil left the room as quickly as he'd come in and left the leader to the advisor's wrath. Doyoung's expression was more miserable than angry; he let out a sigh, covering his face with his hands.

"They're challenging us already," said Taeyong.

"How do you know it was them? It could have been anyone. Not to mention, we don't even know if it _was_ aimed at us!"

"Can I remind you that half of the city is scared of us? Why the hell would they get on our bad side? Jennie and her team wouldn't do this. Neither would Junmyeon or Shownu's teams. Who else could it be?"

Doyoung thought for a moment. "The new ones! What were their names? Stray Kids?"

"You think a bunch of orphans are going to stand up against the people who've run the illegal trade in Capitol for how long now? Six years?"

"You never know."

"No, Doie, I _do_ know. These Serpent guys think they're doing good—don't they? The kidnapping is just a side business. They're answering to their big boss, they don't see any of this as wrong," Taeyong replied.

"You shouldn't be so sure."

"Go on then, give me some evidence it's the orphans."

Doyoung looked at the leader as he sat back, expecting a response. The younger could tell he was being competitive about the whole endeavor. It was one of Taeyong's negative points. He was argumentative. The advisor scoffed and shook his head.

"You're unbelievable."

"Present your case, I want to know why you're blaming our juniors."

"You don't give a shit about me blaming them," said Doyoung, "you care about being wrong."

"I'm not arguing with you, I want to know why you think they did it. We can't go around throwing accusations, we'll lose business."

"You _are_ arguing! You can't just have a civil conversation like the rest of us, you have to go straight for people's throats!"

Taeyong sighed. "I'm not arguing. Do you have evidence or not?"

"Do you think you're a cop? Evidence or not, we can't just assume that our enemy is obvious. You're just finding a reason to disagree with me. Is it because I called you an idiot?"

"I don't care what you call me. I'm being reasonable."

"Reasonable is _not_ a word I'd ever use to describe you," Doyoung sneered.

"Now you're offending me directly."

"Yeah, I am. And what? You're hot-headed, foolish, and crave conflict. You're digging your own gang's graves."

The lack of response from Taeyong just annoyed Doyoung further. It felt like they were back in their high school days, arguing over stupid things. The leader grabbed a box of cigarettes from his desk and took one out.

"Can I remind you that _I'm_ the leader of this godforsaken gang? Yeah, you're smart, but I'm confident in this. It was only a few minutes ago when you were proclaiming how you wanted us to ignore it all."

"You might be the leader, but you're being irrational. Don't jump the gun if you don't want to be shot, it's simple."

Taeyong stood up, and Doyoung furrowed his eyebrows. There was no way they were going to just leave the issue. He needed to know the elder wasn't going to ignore him.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked the advisor.

"For a smoke."

"Just smoke inside like you always do!"

"Give me some peace," the leader muttered, leaving the room with a thud.

Doyoung sighed bitterly, leaning forward. He covered his face, groaning in frustration before gently kicking the desk. He was worried; scared, almost. He didn't want Taeyong to jump to a conclusion that could have ended with a bullet through his head. He soon decided to stand up and rushed out of the room. He immediately met a rather confused Johnny. The elder looked between the front door and the advisor in front of him.

"You've argued, haven't you?"

"It's nothing." The last thing they needed was extra pressure from the others, or for the others to be worrying for little reason.

"I'm not stupid, Taeyong never smokes outside. Like _never_."

"Just keep your nose out of it. It's just a small disagreement."

As Doyoung continued to walk in the direction Taeyong had evidently walked, his eyes set on Jisung and Chenle who were also watching. So much for keeping it low-key. The youngest let out a sigh. "It feels like my parents arguing all over again."

The advisor scoffed, walking away. Chenle shook his head at Jisung and walked back into the kitchen, with the younger following closely behind. Doyoung pushed the front door opposite the grand staircase open, shuffling out. Taeyong was sat on a bench, a cloud of smoke lingering in the air as he looked out at the garden, watching the birds hop along the grass. Even gang leaders had some simple pleasures in their life.

"The others can tell something's wrong."

The leader hummed, returning the cigarette to its place between his lips as he inhaled. 

"Oh, come on. Are you being serious right now? How old are you? Fifteen?"

"You're the one who's got a problem with me."

"I don't have a problem with you, I'm asking you to consider that maybe the killer is from another team. I don't want us to make any stupid mistakes."

The elder suddenly dropped his cigarette onto the gravel path, crushing it beneath his heavy boot. He stood up, making the birds fly away in surprise, and turned around to face Doyoung. "I'm trusting the people who we've got partnerships with. You're telling me to suspect our allies."

"I want you to look at the wider picture."

"I can _see_ the wider picture. We have no reason to suspect them."

"Don't eliminate all possibilities," said Doyoung.

"Alright, fine. We won't rush into action. _You're_ the smart one."

"You're being childish."

"No," he responded, "I'm listening to you."

* * *

"What time is it?" asked Kun, his hands firmly placed on either side of Ten's waist as the younger sat on his lap.

"I don't know, it's too dark."

The elder ran his hands through the other's hair, planting a gentle kiss on his lips in the process. "You're beautiful even in this lighting."

"I think we've done enough kissing for the morning," said Ten, "we have to get this month's money from the casino, remember?"

"We could send the others instead."

The younger dodged an attempted kiss and shook his head. "You're supposed to be a Capo. You can't dodge duties."

"You're right," Kun sighed, "I suppose it could wait until later."

"About that..." said Ten, "I was actually going to help Johnny with Jieun again today."

"That's fine. Don't feel like you have to put up with me—"

"Kun... I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to. It's just that tonight isn't good. Johnny has Jieun all night, so he could do with some help."

"Alright," the elder nodded.

Ten kissed him before getting off of Kun's lap. "I'll get changed in the bathroom. We can leave once you're ready."

"Okay."

The younger walked out of the room, sighing as he closed the door. He looked down the hallway. The light was flooding in through the large window at the front of the building. Before going to get clean clothes, he walked over to the window and looked out to the garden. First, his attention was captured by the birds flying from tree-to-tree, but soon his gaze averted closer to the ground where there was movement. He laughed gently upon seeing Doyoung and Taeyong in each other's embrace. Ignoring the slight heartache that the sight gave him, he turned away to go and get changed.

Ten felt foolish. He knew there was never anything serious between him and the leader, which is why he despised his feelings so much. But he couldn't help it, as Taeyong had been so good to him since the second he joined Neo Culture. He'd stay awake at night to comfort him when he was feeling down. The elder's gentle kisses, his warm embrace—he missed it. But he'd never even _think_ about getting in the way of Taeyong and Doyoung's relationship. What made Ten feel even worse is how he knew Kun liked him. He couldn't forget the past, and even if he wanted to love the elder, he couldn't.

Not while his mind was caught up in the past.

* * *

"Where are you going _now_?" asked Doyoung, watching as Taeyong took his leather jacket from their wardrobe.

"Where do you think?"

"If I had a thought, I wouldn't ask."

"To the crime scene."

The advisor's mouth hung slack. "Are you being serious?"

"I'm always serious."

"That's the _worst_ thing you could do. The police will see you."

"What will they do? Arrest me on the spot? You should know I'm good at keeping to the shadows. I've killed people from rooftops before."

"But... what if whoever killed the politician is there?"

"Then we'll know who we're after, won't we?"

Doyoung groaned. Really, it made sense, but he still didn't trust that Taeyong wouldn't get ambushed. "You should have a bodyguard. Most leaders have a bodyguard."

"We're twenty-three people, not a full mafia."

"Then let me come with you."

Taeyong pretended to think, humming in thought. "No."

"Why?"

"Because two of us will be more likely to draw attention to us."

"We're both sly! After this morning, I want to make sure that you don't do anything impulsive."

"Fine, but if either of us messes up we're both screwed."

Doyoung rolled his eyes as Taeyong picked up some sunglasses and made a quiet noise as he looked at them. "No sunglasses. It's cloudy outside and you're not some badass agent, you're a gangster."

"Exactly. My father used to wear expensive suits, sunglasses and drove a black Mercedes-Benz with tinted windows. He seemed more like a secret agent than a criminal."

"The difference is, your father was rich. We are not."

"We could be if we branched off to other businesses."

"Like what?" asked Doyoung, finding himself a jacket to wear.

"I had this dream last night, and it gave me an idea."

The advisor let out an abrupt laugh. He didn't like where that was going.

"What if we opened a nightclub?"

"What were you dreaming about? Actually, don't tell me. I don't want to know."

"But think about it, that would be _awesome._ "

"We have a restaurant."

Taeyong hummed.

"There's the casino's shares that we get, too."

"Exactly. The casino brings in more money, even if we split fifty-fifty with EXO."

"We don't have enough money to open a nightclub. We spend thousands on guns, paying our drug supplier, and between those of us drink, we spend a hell of a lot on alcohol. Not to mention fuel for the cars and bikes."

"And the money from the guns we sell, in addition to the drugs is decent. If we save, we can branch out."

"Let's save this for another day—we need to get to that crime scene if you want information."

Taeyong nodded. "Alright. Which car?"

"None, we're going on the bus."

"Bus? You're making me get on a _bus_?"

"Do you want our expensive cars to be tracked?"

"Fine, I suppose you're right."

When they eventually arrived at the crime scene, there weren't many police around. The body of their associate was found under a raised highway. The body was no longer there, but they could still faintly see the blood on the ground. Doyoung turned to look at Taeyong as the latter scanned the area. They were far away enough to not be seen by the remaining police. Seeing the leader reach into his pocket, he half expected him to take out a cigarette—which would have given their hiding place behind a bush away—but instead, he took out his phone, and was about to take a photo of what remained of the crime scene.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Doyoung hadn't turned so fast in his life. Relieved to see it was only Detective Byun, he let out a sigh. Taeyong put his phone away and stood up straight, clearing his throat. "Looking for something."

"I'm not stupid, Lee Taeyong. I literally told your men that a politician was murdered because he was your associate."

"What would you be looking for in a bush?" asked Doyoung.

"It was a _joke._ "

"I'm going to assume you're here for information, not just because you're about to be publicly indecent in a bush."

"So, Byun, have you got information for us?" asked Taeyong, ignoring the latter part of what the detective said.

"We've been working together for five months, why are you still calling me Byun?"

Taeyong sneered. "Oh, sorry, I didn't realize we were on friendly terms. I was under the impression that we are blackmailing you."

"So," the detective changed the topic, "Mr Park. His body was found this morning, at dawn. He was shot in the head, and it seems he may have formerly sustained significant trauma to the back of his head. We assume he was attacked from behind in his home. His wife woke up to him being nowhere to be seen, but there was blood on the floor. He was probably loaded into a car and shot out here."

"Gruesome."

"We've checked his home cameras, and there were two assailants. They were both dressed head-to-toe in black. Both of them seemed to be around 5'11". They disappeared from the radar at the end of the estate in a black car. A stolen car, we believe."

"What about DNA?" asked Doyoung, "Surely there was some on the note."

"Those results haven't come back yet, but I'll contact Taeil when I get them."

"Is that all?"

"For now."

"No photos of the corpse?"

Detective Byun looked alarmed. "What are you going to do with the photo of a dead man?"

"Probably not what you're thinking. That head of yours is filthy. First the bush thing, and now you think I'm into necrophilia," Taeyong complained.

"I never implied that."

"If you must know, I want to examine it myself to conduct my _own_ investigation," he replied, "not to ruin your fantasy or anything."

"Alright, I suppose I can send you some photos of the crime scene."

"Aren't you scared?" asked Doyoung suddenly.

Detective Byun pointed at himself questioningly, and once the other nodded, he hummed. "Well, a little bit. The killer seems to know a lot. He probably knows about this... _partnership_."

"He?"

"Ah, that was just a guess. Moving Mr Park's body doesn't look like an easy task. We don't know for certain, but from the video, we think the two assailants were men."

"Well, you've got an investigation to do. I'll send one of our men to make sure you don't get killed. You're valuable to us."

"You don't need to—"

"You said you're scared, accept it. I'll tell him to keep his distance. Will one of our new members suffice?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Doyoung, "It's a bit of a job to drop them into so soon."

"It's a perfect training exercise."

Taeyong took out his phone, searching through his contacts. After a while, he clicked on one and held his phone up to his ear, looking over the top of the bush which they were still stood behind.

"Shotaro? Do you want to do a job for me?"

Even Doyoung and Byun could hear the younger's enthusiastic response on the other side of the line. The Detective merely listened closely while the advisor chuckled.

"Come into the city. Ask Taeil to drive you to... the site of the murder. Walk down on the left side, and I need you to accompany Detective Byun so his head doesn't go rolling—okay?"

More enthusiasm. The call ended and Taeyong looked at the Detective who looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. The leader pushed Doyoung's back gently, encouraging him to move from behind the bush. Once the path was clear, Taeyong walked beside Byun, turning close to his ear.

"He's killed. Four people to be exact. Don't let his adorable facade fool you."

* * *

When Shotaro eventually arrived, the leader's words suddenly made so much sense to Detective Byun. The young criminal bowed at Taeyong and Doyoung, before proceeding to bow at the Detective himself.

"Do you have any weapons?"

"I brought a handgun and my knives," Shotaro nodded.

"Stay in contact with us all day. If you've got any none combat-related inquiries, contact me. If something happens, find somebody who'll answer, if either of us are busy," said the advisor.

"The usual rules apply. If you kill somebody in the open, dispose of the witnesses. Any crime you commit mustn't link back to Neo Culture. Unfortunately, that means no skin carving."

The Detective's eyes widened at that, turning to look at Taeyong before he looked at the youngest.

"What about tonight? Should I return?"

"Well, Detective?"

"I don't have anywhere for him to stay in my apartment."

"Then you can stay with us. Just for a few days, until the excitement of this killing has died down," the leader replied, "don't expect luxury, but expect invasive questions from our younger team."

"Do I have a choice?"

"No, you don't. For your own safety."

Byun inhaled a deep breath, closing his eyes in frustration. "Alright."

"Now, go do whatever detectives do in their time. Shotaro, we're counting on you," said Taeyong.

The younger nodded, hurrying to follow the—rather unamused—Detective. Doyoung sighed. They shouldn't have had to watch their associate's backs. They were left with only one frequent associate and no government ties. He looked at Taeyong as the elder watched the others walk away. "Should we go home?"

"I suppose so," he replied.

"Well, did you notice anything from the crime scene, or did we come here for no reason?"

"Well, I'm wondering why they dragged him here if they attacked him in his house."

"To save his wife the extra suffering?"

Taeyong shook his head. "Wouldn't they have cleaned up the blood, then?"

"Yeah, you're right. Where is his house, anyway?"

"I'm not sure. He never told us. Why would he? He was harder to work with than Byun, the only reason he agreed is because we threatened to ruin his career because we knew he was working with EXO. It's not as though Capitol is huge."

"If he was working with them, then don't you think he could live _outside_ of our zone?"

"Shit, you're right. He probably lives on the outskirts."

"So, they dragged him into our zone so the people recognize this is a threat against us," said the younger, "how long until the cops realize?"

"I'd hope they already noticed, but since Byun was here, that means that he's not head-first in that investigation, is he? Unless he knew we'd come here."

Doyoung turned to face the elder as they were walking back up to the road. "He's smart, he might have guessed. We didn't ask Taeil for any more details."

"Well, we need an address, so we'll get one later. But for now, we need to get on the bus."

They ran over the road as it cleared, rushing on to the bus which was already there, luckily in the process of people entering. When he got into the vehicle, Taeyong handed some money to the man and simply walked off, not bothering about change. He sat down, pulling Doyoung beside him, and held the younger's hand.

"This is public, you know."

"Nobody's looking," the leader replied, caressing the other's hand with his thumb, "it won't kill you to hold my hand on the bus."

Doyoung rolled his eyes, looking around the bus. It was quiet. Only three other people were there aside from them. The city was as busy as it usually was, with people wandering past each other on the street, but now enough to crowd the street. The bus soon began moving. The journey was quiet, and while the younger felt compelled to rest his head on his boyfriend's shoulder, he didn't. He didn't want judgment. Feeling the humming from the bus and they stopped to let more people on, Doyoung tightened his hand in Taeyong's. 

When they began to move again, the advisor met the latter's gaze. The leader smiled. After a moment, Taeyong looked away, and upon looking out of the window, his eyes widened. "Get down!"

Moments later, the window beside him shattered. He sheltered Doyoung from the glass and looked around the bus. The advisor was in shock. Taeyong hurried past him, crouching beneath the shattered window as the bus swerved, coming to an abrupt stop. It was lucky the road was quiet. There were gasps from within the bus when Taeyong took out a gun from the waistband of his jeans and loaded it.

"You brought a gun?"

"I had to be cautious!" the elder exclaimed, ducking as another bullet tore through the air and into the bus, hitting another window, "Everyone, on the floor!"

He took a shot at a man in the distance who was using a car as a barrier between him and the bus. The man dodged it, sending the bullet into a wall. Taeyong cursed as the driver jumped out of his compartment, crawling over to him. The older man muttered something about the police, which made the leader look at Doyoung.

"We can't leave them!" the latter yelled.

"You've had a change of heart?"

"Just shoot that asshole!"

He obliged, turning back to the window. Upon seeing him, the man immediately shot again. Taeyong was just as quick as him. He shot in the direction, shattering the car's window. The man began to retreat back. He ran behind another car. The leader cursed as he gradually got further and further away, but he shot two final times. A bullet struck the man's shoulder. He turned back, but Taeyong was out of bullets. He disappeared around the corner—completely out of sight.

"Don't turn your back on your opponent," he sighed as he slouched back against one of the seats.

Doyoung hurried to his side, quickly looking for any blood. "Are you hurt?"

"No," Taeyong ran a hand along the back of his neck and brought it forward to see a small amount of blood, "nothing significant."

"The glass?" asked the advisor, abruptly pulling the elder into a hug.

"Yeah."

"Is it over? The police are on their way," said the bus driver.

"For you, it's over," Taeyong replied.

The driver let out a sigh of relief, but the others could hardly relate. It wasn't over. It wasn't even _close_.

"For us, it's only just begun."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was a dramatic ending. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	5. Associates

_"Politician Park Byungho was found dead yesterday morning in Capitol. There was footage of him being attacked in his home two hours before his body was discovered. The police are still searching for the killers who allegedly discovered that the politician had connections to a crime syndicate in the South West of Capitol."_

Doyoung was beginning to wake up upon hearing the news playing quietly. He could feel Taeyong's arm around him as he rested his head on the elder's chest. He was warm. Half asleep, the advisor stretched his arm over his boyfriend's waist, and that is when he noticed that the other was shirtless. He was too tired to care, yawning softly. Taeyong must have been awake, as he leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. The action made Doyoung open his eyes to see the room was dark, hardly illuminated by the television's light.

"Morning," said the elder quietly.

The advisor merely groaned in response, closing his eyes once again. He felt like he could sleep for a year in the leader's grasp. But unfortunately for him, that wasn't how the world worked. There was an abrupt knocking from the door. Doyoung stirred in his still half-asleep state, clenching his already shut eyes.

"Who is it?" asked Taeyong.

There was a moment of silence from the other side of the door. "Byun."

"Come in."

The door opened, allowing light to flood into the room. The advisor hit his boyfriend gently for allowing the Detective to enter. Nonetheless, he hardly shifted, even when he heard a noise of surprise from the man in the doorway. He felt Taeyong's chest rise as though he was laughing and assumed that Detective Byun had been taken aback by them.

"Jesus Christ, you could've told me before I walked in."

"Will this sight kill you, Byun? Do you see us as sinners?"

"Of course not," the Detective sneered.

"Then I don't see the problem. What did you want?"

The elder cleared his throat from the door. "I heard there was a shooting yesterday. You took out a gun in public?"

"I did what I had to protect everybody on that bus. It was unprovoked, I only got my gun taken away and fined for carrying firearms in public since I saved all of those people's asses."

"We've been ordered to pay close attention to all gang activity, you might have people sniffing around for a while."

"Great," Taeyong spat, "and has Shotaro needed to protect you yet?"

"No, there isn't even a suspicious soul hanging around my workplace or my apartment."

"Keep him with you for a few more days. Especially if the assholes who killed Park are getting cocky."

Detective Byun let out a sigh, clearly not fond of the plan to keep Shotaro on his tail. "Fine."

"Now, can you leave before Doyoung forces you out of that door?"

"Happily."

Hearing the door close, the advisor lifted his head. Taeyong took the opportunity to kiss the younger on the lips. Doyoung scrunched up his face as he pulled away. "Too early."

"I'm going to shower, will you cry if I leave you?"

"You're warm," the younger groaned, "but go, you need a shower."

"Offended. You do too!"

"Well, the sooner you're done, the sooner I can shower, so go."

"You could come with—"

"No," Doyoung interjected, "I don't trust you to _not_ make it weird."

"That's because you're so irresistible."

The advisor blocked another kiss from the elder with his hand, making the latter frown. "Either go now or wait for me to finish."

"Fine, I'll go."

* * *

_Rolling his eyes, Taeyong's gaze lifted from the ground. With a metallic taste lingering in his mouth, he used his thumb to wipe the crimson blood which had escaped through his burst lip. Returning his hands to his pockets, he looked at his final opponent, a smug expression on his face as he held his chin up high. He scanned his surroundings, looking at the defeated students scattered across the ground, rolling around in agony. His lips curved upward into a smile, even as blood ran down his forehead, leaving part of his face bloodstained. He tilted his head slightly, shifting his attention back to the final opponent._

_"What's taking you so long?" he inquired, reaching into his pocket._

_The student in front of him—a junior—raised an eyebrow as his elder took out a severely crushed box of cigarettes, placing one between his lips. He held it up, shaking it gently. The junior didn't seem to get the message, merely watching. Taeyong sighed, shaking his head._

_"Do you smoke or not?"_

_"What?"_

_The elder had a look of disbelief, pinching the cigarette out of between his blood-smothered lips. "Are you fucking stupid?"_

_"I don't—"_

_The student paused as Taeyong returned the box to his pocket, placing his cigarette, once again, between his lips. He began to walk towards the junior, making the younger shuffle backward, his eyes widening._

_"Hey, w-wait—"_

_The elder lifted his fist, slamming it into his opponent's face. The latter stumbled back, confused, and taken aback. Taeyong grabbed the junior's collar, pulling him forward before he slammed their foreheads together. He dropped him to the ground, shuffling back. He could feel the adrenaline surging, even if he hardly had to put up a fight. The leaders were always easier. Their false strength—it was nothing. They needed to be surrounded by people to feel significant, pushing people around._

_"Fuck," he spat, "I really need to stop doing that."_

_He turned around, disorientated from the abrupt contact, walking towards the junior. His heavy boot collided with the younger's head. He kneeled down, brushing gravel from the junior's face. A smile managed to slip through as he set him up, leaning against the wall. The younger's face scrunched up in pain, drawing a weak breath. Taeyong lifted his fist again, but just before it could make contact with the junior's face, he heard a siren blare in the distance. The junior's lackeys began to emerge from the floor, their uniforms soaked in blood and their movements almost zombie-like._

_Taeyong cursed, standing up. The junior took his chance to kick him—hardly missing a vital body part—making the elder brush down his dusty thigh before he watched the junior as he and his clique evacuated the area. He let out a scoff, shaking his head at them as they disappeared around the corner. "Asshole."_

_Not willing to risk being fined again, or worse, Taeyong took off in the opposite direction. His heavy leather boots collided with the concrete, giving away his location through the sheer noise they caused. He ran under streetlights, in the shadow of houses, and eventually sprinted across the road. His red hair repeatedly made contact with his forehead, proving itself as an annoyance as he wiped the blood that was dripping down his face. If any cop saw him, they'd know he was fighting. It was obvious._

_He sharply ran around a corner, looking down at the blood smeared on his hands. He could feel a dull headache which would probably make the rest of his night hellish. He'd returned his cigarette to his pocket. There were more pressing matters to deal with, even if it was probably about to snap in his pocket. Hearing a noise from behind him, he looked back. He furrowed his eyebrows as he saw nothing there, but before he could turn around, he collided with something. Or, someone. There was a quiet proclamation of pain from the floor, and Taeyong looked down._

_"Can't you watch where you're going?" the familiar male snapped._

_"Doyoung?"_

_The younger's gaze lifted. "It's you? Asshole."_

_"I'd get off your ass if I was you, the police are hunting the area."_

_"What the hell have you done?"_

_"A little fight. None of your business," said Taeyong, holding his hand out for Doyoung._

_The younger merely looked at him, sneered, and stood up without his aid. It didn't surprise the delinquent._

_"Won't your father freak out if he sees you've been in a street fight?"_

_Taeyong took out his cigarette again, lighting it. "You think he cares? He's probably out."_

_"Do you want to risk it? I thought he asked you to stay low?"_

_"Oh, so now you're being all nice to me? I thought you didn't like us bad guys."_

_"Whatever, forget I asked."_

_"Hey, no. Fine, what do you have in mind?"_

_"The hideout, obviously," Doyoung replied snarkily._

_Taeyong gently tapped one of the cuts on his face. "That's actually a decent idea. I'll go there now."_

_"You don't want me to come with you?"_

* * *

When Taeyong finished his shower, he walked out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel as he alerted Doyoung that he was done, knocking on the bedroom door. "I'll be waiting downstairs."

There was a hum from the younger on the other side of the door moments before it opened, and he stepped out holding his clothes. The leader decided it probably wasn't a good idea to hug Doyoung again when the younger clearly told him they'd return to their normal behavior. Outsiders didn't even know they were together.

"Will you be in your office?"

"I don't live there, so no. I'll probably get a drink and check on the others in the lounge."

The advisor nodded. "Fine, I'll just hunt you down."

"You're good at that, you'll be fine."

"Damn right I am. I'd be concerned if I _couldn't_ hunt people down."

"Alright, alright. Go shower," said Taeyong, gently pushing the younger towards the door.

Doyoung disappeared through the door shaking his head. The leader turned around and walked down the stairs, which left him in the main hall by the front door. He had to loop around on the ground level to head toward the kitchen, but in the process, he came across Ten and Kun also walking to the kitchen.

"Ten, it's been a while. Have you been alright?" he asked.

The younger hummed. "Well, we're both quite busy."

"Yeah, but I feel bad. If you need to talk to me, come to my office."

"Am I the only one who feels like that's suggestive?" Kun whispered to Ten, accidentally speaking loud enough that Taeyong also heard.

"If you've got something to say, Qian, say it to my face. And no, I mean talking as _friends_."

"I know that," Ten insisted.

"Taeyong!" Taeil shouted from the door.

The leader sighed. He'd only just gotten downstairs and he was already being yelled at. "What?"

"The cameras picked up somebody outside. They're wearing a black cap, so I couldn't see their face."

"Fantastic, let's just invite the entire city to join in stealing my free time."

Behind him, Kun pulled out his gun. "Should we check the area?"

"You and me. Ten, stay inside."

"What?" the younger practically squeaked, "Why? I can use guns—"

"Because your specialty is knife combat and deception. I'm not doubting your gun skills, but just leave this to us. They might be armed," Taeyong took out his gun. "If you hear a gunshot, tell everybody to get into the basement and wait it out unless they want to risk being shot. Doyoung's upstairs, in the bathroom. Whatever you do, keep him inside."

"That's easier said than done."

"I know, but I'm trusting you. Please? Can you do that for me?"

Ten looked away, avoiding eye contact with the elder. "Fine, I'll keep him inside."

"Thanks," said Taeyong, "Kun, let's go. Don't shoot unless they're armed."

They made their way to the door, with the leader in front. He unlocked the door, pushing it open after he ensured they wouldn't immediately be met by a stranger. They didn't seem to be waiting outside of the door. Cold air flooded into the mansion. Kun closed the door behind them, following behind as Taeyong looked around the corners, pointing the gun in each direction. Nobody. He heard the door open and looked back to see Taeil peaking out.

"Left side, by the window to the spare meeting room."

"Get back inside, we'll get them."

Taeyong began to walk in the direction. It took a few meters past the front room's window until he spotted a black cap. They hadn't been noticed, oddly enough. He pointed his gun at them as a precaution and revealed himself. He was met by a shocked—albeit familiar—face.

"What the _fuck_ are you doing here? You're on the wrong turf, kid."

Kun lowered his gun, returning it to its place in a holder on his belt. Taeyong's remained up, but it was clear he was being cautious. The man in front of them, however, didn't seem to pose any risk. He remembered him. Bangchan, he recalled his name was.

"Woah, calm down," he said, putting his hands up in surprise, "I'm not here to cause trouble."

Taeyong didn't budge, still gripping his gun tightly. "The door's over there, what are you doing _here._ "

"I heard people, I wanted to talk to you, not get a gun pointed at my head. I was worried I'd get ambushed. You're far more people than us."

"Where are your men?"

"My _friends_ are waiting by the gate, in the van."

"You do realize we have cameras everywhere? We could see you wandering around."

"Whoops," Bangchan chuckled, "so, can we talk?"

"Fine," Taeyong replied bitterly, "Kun, tell everybody he's authorized."

"Are you sure?"

"I wouldn't say so if I wasn't."

The leader finally returned his gun to where it belonged, walking back towards the door. Before he opened it, he let Kun go in front and turned back to Bangchan.

"No weapons in our territory. You'll have to hand them over."

"I expected as much."

When they walked inside, both Ten and Taeil were waiting. The latter hurried over. "Leader of the orphans?"

"We have a name," said Bangchan, "Stray Kids."

"Why is he here?"

"To talk. Search him first," the leader replied.

The visitor sighed as Taeil quickly checked his pockets, and pat him down wherever he expected a weapon to be. He pulled out a knife from a hidden pocket in his coat.

"No gun, just a measly knife?" asked Taeyong.

"We don't use guns, this is just a precaution."

"You're hardly a gang, aren't you?"

Banchan nodded. "Just a few friends."

"I'll hold this until you're done," said Taeil, pocketing the knife.

"Come on, to my office."

"Office? That's so... official. How could you afford a place like this?"

"That's none of your business," Taeyong replied.

"Right," the younger sighed quietly.

Bangchan followed him into the room and sat down opposite Taeyong. Even if they were both leaders, there was a clear divide between them.

"Get to it—what do you want? You've hardly been on the radar for a year, yet you rock up here like we're old buddies?"

"Yeah, sorry. I heard what happened to your info source. We've been paying attention to the streets lately, so we've been hearing a lot from people around. There's a new threat in Capitol?"

"Well, you'll have heard that too. They're not particularly new. Just resurfaced."

"Can you give me some information on them?" asked Bangchan, "We're a little uneasy, seeing the state of the city."

Taeyong raised an eyebrow. "You want to protect Capitol and 'her beauty'?"

"I suppose. You and I both know that this city is neck-deep in filth. Really, we add to it."

"There, you really wanted to say that just us do, didn't you? 'Six years of fear from Neo Culture in the south-west, the unfortunate epicenter of trade'. Let's be honest, you and your boys from the south-east haven't caused nearly as much trouble as us."

"Well, there's that. But I don't particularly think you're part of the problem. You don't harm citizens, you don't pull the trigger without reason, and don't _always_ kill. Your money comes from selling stuff that probably shouldn't be on the streets, but at least you don't sell to kids."

"You've done your research, haven't you?" asked the elder, "We're illegal entrepreneurs."

"I'll be honest, at first, I was hyped to get out on the street and wreak havoc. But I realized we didn't _need_ to do that. We created a family. People have started to regard us as the protectors of our side of the city, actually."

"So, information, hey? Are you sure? You seem like a cheerful guy, I don't want to ruin your mood."

"I can take it."

* * *

"Taeil," Doyoung called as he walked into the lounge, where the others were preoccupied with a racing game on the TV, "where's Taeyong?"

"Oh, he's talking to Bangchan. Remember him? The one who leads Stray Kids—I think that's what they're called, anyway."

"Alone?"

"Yeah, he's in his office—"

"What if he's the one who killed the politician?" Doyoung yelled, "Have you all gone mad? Why are you just letting him in here?"

"He isn't armed, I've got his knife. They don't do violence."

"It could be a trick!"

Taeil sighed, standing up. He walked over to the younger, pulling him away from the room. "Why are you so tense lately? First, you and Taeyong clashed, and now you're being paranoid about a harmless kid."

"I can't let my guard down for us. Taeyong is too reckless!"

"You need to calm down and trust him for once."

"This isn't about trust, it's about logic. Every time I leave him to his own devices, he ends up getting locked up somewhere and practically tortured!"

"And he always bounces back, doesn't he? He can take more than you realize, you know. I know it's not the reassurance you need, but he isn't just some hard-headed thug. He's a Dragon, Doyoung. The son of one of the most infamous men in the country."

"He hardly acts like it," Doyoung snorted.

"But you _know_ he is. And you? You're smart, and you're strong. If he'd in any danger, he knows you'll save his ass."

"One day I won't be able to, and I'll have to sit there hugging his corpse in some old shed, crying like a baby. Then you'll all try to be there for me until I've had enough and follow him to hell. Surely you understand me! His luck can only last for so long."

Taeil knew he was right, but at the end of the day, he knew he had to trust Taeyong's judgment. He was the leader, after all. "Look, maybe you should talk to him? Once he's done, of course."

"I'm going now. He could be in danger."

Before the elder could stop him, he stormed down the hallway to the office. Taeil grabbed Doyoung's arm to pull him back, but the latter slipped out of his grip and opened the door. Taeyong looked up at him when he walked in. Bangchan furrowed his eyes in confusion.

"Doyoung?" asked the leader.

"Why did you just let him in?" asked the advisor, "We talked about this."

"You seriously suspect _him_?"

"I'm just not ignoring the possibility."

Bangchan turned around, but he nodded slightly. "I accept that, but I honestly wouldn't harm even a fly."

"He wanted information, that's all."

"Why?" Doyoung questioned, "The body was in our turf, you've got nothing to worry about."

"Because we've heard about the outsiders that have settled in Capitol. We're not going to sit back and let some sick crime ring continue on our watch."

"But you won't use violence?"

"If it can be avoided," Bangchan replied.

To that, Taeyong scoffed. "In this world, fists will be your savior, and peaceful methods will be your undoing."

"That might be so, but we still want to try."

"Well, you have fun with that," Doyoung replied, "are you done?"

"Yeah, I'm done. If you feel like knocking these guys off of their pedestal, we can help," said Bangchan, "this isn't something we should ignore."

"We're strong enough to deal with this alone," Taeyong insisted.

The other leader merely nodded. "Alright, my offer still stands though. I should probably go."

"I'll see you out."

Both leaders stood up, and Doyoung scowled at Bangchan. He didn't seem like a hazard, but he could never be too cautious. Outside of the office, Taeil was pacing backward and forward, his attention snatched when the door opened. He hurried over and let out a sigh of relief to see that Taeyong didn't seem annoyed by the advisor's intrusion. He handed the younger leader his knife and followed them over to the front door. He let out a pitiful laugh when Bangchan waved at them, only for the door to be slammed in his face.

"What was that about?" asked the eldest.

"He was just being nosy, nothing special. But he says he'd help if we asked for it."

"You said it yourself. We don't need help," Doyoung replied, "but I guess he isn't very suspicious, just child-like."

* * *

_"I can't believe you actually wanted to keep me company," said Taeyong as he sat on the rough stone ground._

_The wind was blowing against the wall, and they could hear rain gently patter off of the cracked window. Doyoung sat against the wall, looking down at his hands as the elder tried to find some comfortable way to sit. "I didn't want to come here, I just offered to come with you."_

_"Alright, save your pride. I wanted you here."_

_"I know."_

_"You're so difficult," Taeyong complained, "but it's kind of relieving to have somebody to be snarky with."_

_"I'm curious."_

_The elder turned to face Doyoung, an eyebrow raised. "Is that so?"_

_"What's your father like? I know he's... kind of a hotshot, but you never talk about him as though he's your family."_

_"We don't act like family. Calling him my father is as far as it goes. He treats me like one of his underlings, more like a successor," Taeyong replied. "'Do this... do that. You're wrong. Leader's don't quit, stop acting like a child.'"_

_"Does he love you?"_

_To that, the elder was taken aback. He shrugged. "I don't know, maybe. How could I tell? The only thing we do together is argue, but he's not a bad person."_

_"I think he does, he just doesn't know how to show it."_

_"You know, you're not as bad as I thought. What happened to you hating me?"_

_"Nothing. I still hate you."_

_"That's not the vibe I'm getting. Or did you bring me here to kill me?"_

_Doyoung laughed, shaking his head. "Would you let me?"_

_"Maybe," Taeyong hummed, "but I know you don't want to kill me."_

_"How can you be so sure?"_

_"Intuition. You don't seem to be searching for a weakness, you're just sitting there asking me about my life."_

_"Hypothetically, if I did try to kill you, what would you do?"_

_The elder pretended to think. "Isn't that obvious? I'd kill you first."_

_"I don't believe you."_

_"I'd stab you—" he leaned forward, poking Doyoung in the chest, right where his heart would be, "—right there."_

* * *

Taeyong arrived at a small building, out on the outskirts of the city. Doyoung was sat on the passenger seat of the car they mostly used, his head resting on the window as his eyes were gently shut. Jennie had contacted them about the guns, which they _luckily_ managed to gather. They were cautious on the way, and warned the others of their departure beforehand. The leader parked the car with a sigh, taking the key out. "Let's not keep them waiting."

"That sounds like a good idea."

Stepping out of the car, Doyoung looked around. The area was mostly deserted. A light gravel crumbled under both of their feet as they walked toward the building, with the advisor's hand on his gun as a precaution. It'd been a long time since they'd seen Jennie and her team all together, and the last time they saw her they had her kidnapped by a cop, so they assumed it hadn't settled well.

When they stepped into the building, the four women were stood waiting. Beside them were several oil canisters, but given the reason they were there, Doyoung knew they weren't filled with oil.

"So, you genuinely decided to supply us?" asked Taeyong, "I thought you'd have tricked us to get our money."

"You were careless to hand over decent money _before_ getting the guns."

"I was getting your trust, and you've delivered."

"I can easily take them back."

"That won't be necessary," Doyoung interrupted, "thank you."

Jennie gawked, prompting the advisor to furrow his eyebrows as she crossed her arms. "You have manners? In high school, you were the snarkiest little nerd, and you weren't any better when Taeyong decided to have you as his right-hand man."

"I can use them when necessary."

"You know, I like this new you. Something must've changed."

He heard Taeyong laughing and immediately turned around, instincts were telling him what would follow. It was confirmed when the elder's arm wrapped around him.

"That's because he's mine now."

The women looked surprised, to say the least. Doyoung observed their expressions as he pushed out of his boyfriend's grip.

"Well, congrats," said Jennie, "but I prefer to think that Doyoung owns you, you're his."

"I agree with her," the advisor nodded.

"Have it however you want, we're here for guns, not a chat."

"He's angry!" Lisa joked in the background, and Doyoung laughed.

"Alright, take your guns. I don't want to damage your fragile pride," said Jennie

Taeyong sighed, walking towards the canisters. "I think we might need the van."

"Call Johnny, he'll come," the advisor suggested.

The elder took out his phone, looking through his contacts for his name. "Let's hope he's not busy."

"What would Johnny Suh be busy with?" asked Jennie, "Don't tell me—is he still a player?"

"He calmed down after Jieun was born, but you were still here around that time."

She gasped quietly, edging away from where Taeyong. "I forgot he had a daughter! How old is she now?"

"Seven, I think," Doyoung replied, "surprisingly, he can still see her."

"Her mother's a bitch," said Jennie, "I'm surprised she hasn't banned him from seeing her. Not everybody's father's torture people for information in a gang."

In the background, Chaeyoung scoffed. "Neo Culture is starting to sound incredibly similar to Capitol's detective agency."

"Come to think of it," Jennie hummed, "you got a detective to kidnap me."

"He's more like us than a cop. He's a killer, we have proof, so we have an agreement," said Taeyong.

"No, you're blackmailing him."

"By now, it's an agreement. He comes to us with information. It's a mutual understanding," the leader explained, "it just so happens that he's supposed to be our enemy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while. Like, a _long_ while. Sorry for the late update!
> 
> Anybody who reads my other stories knows I put a hell of a lot of flashbacks in my stories (maybe too many?). So please tell me if I should cut down on them or just at least spread them out better, but I usually wouldn't do two in one chapter. I don't want this to be a story focused on the past (like some of my others are... if you read it, you know).


	6. Gone Like The Wind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Potentially triggering content (implied).  
> Please refer to the tags before you read this chapter.

It had already been a long morning. Sitting at the meeting table alongside Johnny, Jaehyun, Yuta, and Detective Byun, Taeyong held in his yawns as he listened. They had more information about their new enemy. The detective had been rather enthusiastic with his finds, so the founders—or, most of them—decided to hear him out, even if it was online nine-thirty in the morning.

"So, you know how you asked me about some people called the... what was it... 'The Serpent's Eyes'? It turns out you've been a little bit confused."

"We have?" asked Taeyong, "How?"

"They're actually called _Baemjali._ "

"Baemjali?" asked Yuta.

Jaehyun snickered, "it means Serpent, idiot."

"Why does it matter what language we refer to them in?" asked Johnny, "So, they're not mostly westerners? I thought Taeyong was kidnapped by a white man?"

"I was, he didn't have a Korean accent. But there were Korean men there, or, at least other nationalities."

"You're missing the point. They're just called the 'Serpents', not 'The Serpent's Eyes', like you told me," Detective Byun explained, "it seems their 'eyes' are their field men, like the ones who kidnapped you, and Kim Sungho, remember him?"

"The creep?" asked Jaehyun.

"Yeah, that one. They seem to refer to their field men as the 'Watchdogs', they're a sub-faction of the Serpents."

Looking up at the leader to see that he was obviously confused, Detective Byun sighed. He found it easier to work with children.

"Wouldn't it be wiser to tell this to Doyoung or Taeil?" Yuta questioned, "I mean... we have a few barriers."

"Yeah, intelligence," Johnny mocked.

"Well, you know what they say. 'A genius won't end up in prison'."

"I think I get it," said Taeyong, "our actual enemies are the Serpents, and they command a team called the Watchdogs, who we've come into contact with several times?"

Detective Byun just had to clap. He ignored how they looked at him, shaking their heads. It was just amusing. Some people may have referred to Neo Culture as a team of geniuses, which was due to their ability to push the blame away from themselves. He always knew that Doyoung was the mastermind, but he didn't realize just how much of a musclehead Taeyong was. "That's correct. But I think this next part will intrigue you more. The Serpents, to this day, is still led by a man called Choi Hanjae."

"Choi Hanjae?" asked Taeyong, "That name sounds familiar."

"Good, that's what I wanted to hear."

"Why? Get to the point," Johnny complained.

"Choi Hanjae used to belong to another faction. Up until 1993, that is. He was the right-hand man for a _very_ important boss. He was practically an underboss," Detective Byun looked up to see that Jaehyun seemed to understand what he was getting at, and grinned. "He betrayed his boss and created the Serpents, which is a criminal organization, similar to Neo Culture. Back then, his original faction was _huge,_ but he wasn't in that bloodline, he was an outsider. But he took the pledge and swore loyalty to his boss, even if he'd layer betray him. His boss... he was a man called Lee Muyeol."

Each of the gangsters turned to their leader, who immediately sighed, burying his face in his hands. "He's the one who killed my father, isn't he?"

"I do recall that he killed a man in 2013."

"This doesn't sound good," said Yuta, "they're targeting us on purpose, aren't they?"

Detective Byun hummed, looking at the leader's clenched fists as the latter sat upright again. "It's likely. He's untouchable, though. Back in 2015, just before Neo Culture made the coalition with EXO which drove you to the top of the food chain in Capitol—"

"How do you know about that?" Johnny interjected, turning to Taeyong, "Did you tell him?"

"No, I didn't."

There was a moment of silence in the room, but it was soon broken. "This isn't a huge city, word got around that you run a casino together. Plus, before you started to blackmail me, I _was_ preparing to present a case that would have sent your leader straight to prison for upwards of twenty years, which I helped you sabotage; remember?"

"Well, I suppose that makes sense," said Johnny.

"Anyway," the detective continued. "The Serpents were officially declared a terrorist organization in 2015, after an attack that killed fifteen people. His followers will sacrifice themselves without a second thought, though his force has reportedly weakened since 2018 when they went quiet. But they're back, and they've started to get involved in human trafficking, the organ trade, and, more recently, we've been led to believe that they are actually training child soldiers."

"Fuck," Taeyong muttered, "and the police haven't lifted a finger?"

"There's a task force that is working with the Public Safety Division, but they're in the early stages of the investigation. That's all they know. I'm not sure what they plan on doing, but they're under the impression that the murder of Park Byungho was down to them since they have a history of killing politicians who publicly shame them, and he did, one month before he was killed."

"Looks like we need to keep our associates on a tight leash now, huh?" Yuta chuckled, "You better not be planning a confrontation."

"This isn't my case, I don't have permission to stick my nose into this. Well, Mr Park's murder is my business, though."

"You're sneaky, I'm sure you'd find a—"

There was a shout from beyond the door, prompting them all to fall quiet. Before Taeyong could take out his gun, the door burst open, and in came a furious young woman. Taeil had grabbed onto her arm, obviously trying to stop her from intruding. Upon being faced with confused glances, he stopped what he was doing, instead standing up straight as he stood by the door. He cleared his throat, "Taeyong, Eunjin would like to talk to you. She said it's important."

"No shit," the leader muttered, "follow me."

"Where are we going?" she asked.

Taeyong walked over in her direction, but paused, turning to face the table. "I'll be back, keep exchanging information. Johnny, you catch me up later."

"Understood."

"What have I told you about coming here?" said the leader bitterly, grabbing the woman's arm, "You've got no reason to be here."

Detective Byun sighed, turning to look at Johnny, who met his gaze with a quiet laugh. "Don't ask."

"Your leader's quite the busy man, isn't he?"

"You've got _no_ idea."

Once the door closed, Taeyong told Taeil to return to his office—a small room on the second floor, where he observed the camera footage while he wasn't busy—and let go of Eunjin's arm. She placed her hand over her wrist where a slight red mark remained and scowled. She soon looked at him and crossed her arms. "Is that any way to treat a woman?"

"What do you want? Don't think I'll just forget what bullshit you spew to Doyoung."

"I'm telling him the truth!" she yelled, "You could easily have anybody or everybody that you could ever want, but instead you date _him_ , the nerdy asshole who humiliated you several times in high school?"

"I'm not using him, I actually love him."

"You said that about me, too! For _years._ All those years that he was your little right-hand man, doing whatever you wanted him to do, you were telling me that you loved me."

"Have you forgotten what happened during those years?"

He would've just said outright, clearly so she understood what he meant, as a lot happened over the years. He would have said, _"have you forgotten how many times I cheated on you?",_ or _, "have you forgotten how often I lied to you, saying that I had to help the younger members with their arms training?",_ but if he had to be honest, it made him feel horrible. He did love her, once. But he couldn't stand how she used to brag to all of her friends about how she was dating Lee Muyeol's son, that she was dating a _criminal._ She was also ridiculously critical of others—Doyoung, Ten, Johnny—even Jaehyun, at one point, even though she knew that he'd been friends with the aforementioned longer than he could remember.

"I haven't forgotten, Tae. But I can forgive you!"

It all ended less than a year earlier, and he'd started dating Doyoung a month afterward. His feelings had gone long before, but he tried to give himself time to see if it was just a temporary thing. If anything, it was only then when he started to give her frequent attention. He tried to get his feelings for her back, and that was likely what made it harder for her. She probably thought he was falling deeper, not out entirely. They'd dated since high school, a year before graduation. That was before his father died. They'd had a decent-sized break somewhere in the center, as Taeyong was paying more attention to Neo Culture than _anything_ else, but got back together eventually. Overall, it summed to roughly four and a half years together.

He couldn't lie. He knew he wouldn't want to be lied to, so when the cheating was revealed, he took his chance to end it. He never expected that she'd be so angry about it. He even lied about how long it had been going on—from the actual _"about a year"_ to an incredibly unspecific _"a month or so"_ —to make it a little bit lighter on her, but even then, it was a disaster. He should've expected that.

"Why? Why would you forgive me for that?"

"I-It was only two people, though... right? That's nothing. I told Jihae, and she said that wasn't _that_ bad."

"You've got a problem. It _is_ wrong, no matter what, even I know that!"

"I understand you, Tae, you didn't do it to hurt me," said Eunjin, "it wasn't intentional, right?"

"What do you mean by that?"

She seemed surprised that he wanted elaboration, and looked down. "Love... you didn't really experience it while you were growing up, because of your father—"

"So, what? There's something wrong with me now?"

"I don't mean that... I just mean—" she sighed. "It doesn't matter. Where is Doyoung, anyway?"

"He's busy, and it's none of your business."

He was expecting that she'd argue back, but she didn't. He didn't actually know where he was, but earlier in the morning, he'd say he had to miss for a short while. He looked down at the ground, sighing as they stood in silence. He didn't mean for everything to end so badly, but it was really out of his control. He didn't want to hurt her, that was true. His gaze lifted quicker than it ever had before when he felt a grip on his shoulder, and soon lips collided with his. He was more surprised than angry, he didn't think she'd ever _stoop_ that low.

"Boss, we're—" Yuta's voice began from behind them, "—done..."

Taeyong tore his lips away and took a deep breath, pushing her back gently. He turned to see them all looking surprised, especially Jaehyun, who was practically gawking. Detective Byun cleared his throat and fixed his tie. "Well, I'll be leaving, for now. I'll go and collect Shotaro."

"You're done..?" the leader questioned, "Alright. Jaehyun, Yuta, you can just wait on standby for now. We'll collect you if we need any help."

"Right," said Jaehyun, walking away with Yuta in tow.

Johnny looked disappointed, naturally, but before the situation could be further escalated, Taeyong turned around to face Eunjin. "You need to leave, for real this time. I don't want to see you again. See yourself out."

"Wait!" she called, watching as he began to walk away, "It's been five months, you know. Since we broke up."

"I'm aware," he snapped.

"I-I need to tell you something."

"You had your chance, now get lost."

"I'm having your child!" she shouted.

Both Jaehyun and Yuta stopped in their tracks, and everything fell silent. Taeyong let out a breath he'd been holding in as Eunjin shrunk down onto the ground on her knees. He heard muffled cries come from her and looked at Johnny, as he was the nearest person to him. The elder gave him an unreadable expression and shook his head as the leader did _nothing_. Instead, Johnny walked over, kneeling beside Eunjin.

He put his arm around her, softly caressing her shoulder. "Come on, you can sit in the meeting room for a bit. The others might crowd. Can I get you a drink or anything?"

"No... I'm fine."

"Taeyong," said Jaehyun, walking over, "are you seriously letting Johnny deal with this?"

He grabbed the elder's shirt, and the latter muttered something, only for the other to not here and prompt him to repeat it. "I need a moment."

"A moment? You've had plenty of those to consider the possibility of this happening with how you were treating her towards the end of your relationship!"

"Jaehyun, don't," said Eunjin, as she was about to walk into the meeting room, "he can talk to me when he's ready."

"Doyoung!" Yuta shouted as they heard quick, sudden footsteps come down the stairs.

Surely enough, Doyoung ran down the stairs. Without even sparing a glance at his boyfriend, he ran out of the house. Taeyong immediately groaned and kicked the wall. Nothing was going right.

"Do you think he heard?" asked Jaehyun.

Yuta sneered, "obviously."

The door to the meeting room opened, and Johnny walked out. His eyes immediately darted to Taeyong and he walked over. The very sight of his expression made both Jaehyun and Yuta move back. They were expecting somebody to get hit. But they never. The eldest of the four pulled the leader away from the wall and hugged him, slapping his back less than gently. "You fucking idiot, we never learn, do we?"

"I can't believe it."

"Neither could I, but since I was with Jihae when she told me, that kind of made it easier. Well, aside from the fact that we hadn't even graduated yet," Johnny chuckled. "I heard Yuta shout Doyoung's name, what happened?"

"He ran down the stairs and left, I think he heard," Jaehyun replied.

The elder sighed. "Shit. Can you two go and look for him while we deal with this side of the issue?"

"I suppose," said Yuta, "but I don't need Jaehyun's help."

"Of course you don't."

"For once, just work together," said Johnny, "you're getting worse at interacting."

The Japanese member scoffed. "Yeah? Well, there's a bro code that shouldn't be broken."

"Not now," said Jaehyun, "I'm going to find Doyoung."

"Not if I find him first."

Johnny sighed, watching them both jog toward the door. They soon disappeared beyond it, complaining at each other on the way out. "Now, I trust that you can be nicer than you usually are. I'm getting her a drink anyway, it's better to just do something nice rather than ask. I know it's hard for you, but be a gentleman."

"I don't want to hear that from 'Playboy Suh'."

"Hey, I've grown out of that."

"Now you're just Bachelor Suh," Taeyong joked, "Right, I guess I should get this over and done with."

"Don't rush it, you've done enough damage as it is."

The leader looked over to the door to the meeting room, walking past Johnny with hesitance. He didn't know how Eunjin was going to react. He certainly hadn't been the nicest to her, but they hadn't exactly been all buddy-buddy in recent months. He pushed the door open and looked back to see Johnny mouthing something along the lines of "good luck". He walked down the hallway, and Taeyong stepped into the room. Eunjin was surprised when he walked in, and the leader noticed how she was holding her wrist, where he'd grabbed her before. Upon realizing he noticed, she took her hand away.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know, I act a little bit... well, pushy."

"Either way, I shouldn't have treated you like that. It's just how you treat Doyoung—"

"I know," she said, "I'm sorry about that."

Taeyong hesitantly sat down beside her, moving his chair away slightly so there was at least some space between them. "Well, how long have you known?"

"Two months. I've been putting off telling you because I'd hoped we'd be back together."

He remained silent. He had no intentions of breaking up with Doyoung, even if it would be difficult. He looked down at the large walnut table.

"If everything goes right, they should be born in three months. The doctor said I realized late because the baby is really small, and because of how thin I am..."

"Three months?" asked Taeyong, "So soon? Are you sure it's mine?"

"We haven't been together in over five months, Taeyong. Plus, given the last few weeks we spent together... It's not particularly easy to guess what time it happened, exactly. And I haven't been with anybody else since."

"Fuck," he muttered. "Why now? We were together for four years and it happened just before we broke up?"

"The world works in weird ways."

"Do you really think it's a good idea to keep it?"

"They're not an it," Eunjin scowled. "Are you telling me to get rid of our child?"

He nodded. "We're not together, that's no situation to raise a child in."

"Do you remember back in our first year together when I told you that I wanted children down the line? Now isn't any different, Tae. You agreed with me. You said you wanted to be the best father anybody could ever have."

"But you're single, and I'm dating somebody else. Not to mention—do you know what's going on in Capitol? We're in a really dangerous situation right now," Taeyong replied.

"People raise children apart all of the time, you know. Plus, I can't... I think it's too late."

"You'd seriously raise a gangster's child? You wouldn't abandon them?"

She gave him a look of pity, sighing. "I wouldn't abandon our child. If we work together... you might have a successor—"

"This isn't about succession. I already have Mark, he's my successor."

"You don't want to continue your bloodline?"

"Shit, I forgot about that. That's another reason, do you know how hard life is for somebody who pledges their body and soul to the Dragons?"

"The Dragons aren't together, though."

"Even afterward, people look at me, and they see my father. I wouldn't wish that upon anybody."

"We could be careful—"

There was a rapid knock on the door, and it quickly burst open—again. Johnny ran in with his phone in his hand, pale-faced and almost trembling. "Jieun has been kidnapped."

"What?" asked Taeyong, pushing his chair back, "When? Where at? We need to call everybody together, now."

"Jihae was taking her to school. They ambushed them... five men."

Taeyong hurried around the table. "In the lounge."

It wasn't that far to run. Just down the hallway, first. Eunjin followed behind them both, a step behind, as it occurred to her that not everybody knew who she was. They rushed into the room which was _loud_ , at first, and crammed with chairs, a few sofas, TVs, and a few different gaming consoles. It wasn't huge, but it was certainly bigger than the other rooms. Eunjin remembered the mansion like it was her own home, and for a while, it was.

"Taeyong!" a familiar, young voice called, "You've got a child?"

"Chenle!" Jisung muttered, covering the elder's mouth.

"Everybody," Taeyong shouted, pulling a chair to stand on. "Forget the gossip for now, we have a serious problem."

Eunjin made eye contact with Ten, who she immediately recognized. He looked away sheepishly, and that was when the former noticed that Kun had his arm around him. Things certainly changed.

"Jieun has been kidnapped, we're not sure where she is. Byun and Shotaro, I'll need you to collect Jihae and bring her here, before she does anything rash. Talk to Johnny for information. We need to know if she is contacted by the kidnappers. Everybody else, be ready to move with little to no warning. I'll contact Doyoung, Jaehyun, and Yuta. Renjun, can you get Taeil from his office?"

There were several shouts of understanding, and Renjun ran out of the room. Others got up, rushing around, and some headed towards the stairs to the basement. Johnny ran to Shotaro and Detective Byun, and Taeyong sighed, sitting down on his chair. Sungchan walked over, seeming nervous. He stood in front of the leader, prompting him to look up. "What should I do?"

"Right, you haven't had much time to find your place. What are you confident in?"

"Well, I've done some gun training with Taeil, Mark, and Shotaro, but I've never shot somebody..."

"That's alright, do you think you can?" asked Taeyong.

"I'm not sure. If I have to, I probably could."

The leader nodded, standing up once again. He turned around to see whether Taeil was near, but instead, he saw Eunjin looking at him with a soft, endearing expression. She looked away as quickly as she could, and Taeyong cleared his throat. "For now, do you want to stay and protect the women with Taeil? This might be overwhelming for your first job, so let's start small, and eventually, you can get out on the field. Sound good?"

"Y-Yeah!"

"Go and grab a gun, just in case."

"Thanks!"

"Thanks for what?" Taeyong chuckled, but upon realizing that Eunjin was still behind him, he turned around with a quiet sigh. 

"You're a totally different person when you're with new recruits. I'm glad most of them won't see the sides of you that I, Ten, or the rest of the founders have seen."

"I'm just being careful with him," the leader began, "he was abused by his father, I don't want to throw him straight into a fight."

"Poor kid."

Taeyong nodded. "Well, that's how it is with Neo Culture. We're a family before we're a criminal organization. Now, I need to know what my boyfriend's hunters are doing. You'll have to amuse yourself for a while."

"Good luck."

He took out his phone, searching for Jaehyun's contact once it was unlocked. Once he found it, he held the device to his ear and waited. He could hear the others talking around the house as the other side picked up, and upon hearing nothing but the wind from Jaehyun's side, he moved the phone away from his ear. "What are you doing?"

"Doyoung is gone!"

"What do you mean he's gone?" asked Taeyong, looking at Eunjin.

"We lost him, he just disappeared from our sight! He was there, and then he wasn't. We might have... gotten distracted."

"How?"

Following a pause, Jaehyun hesitantly continued talking. "Arguing, honestly, I'm sorry. We had a job, and we failed."

"Doyoung might have seen you. He's probably just wanting space for now. Head back, we have a problem. Jieun has been kidnapped."

* * *

A while after everybody but Doyoung arrived—and Taeyong couldn't get through to him, so left him a message—everybody was sat in the lounge. It was eerily quiet, as everybody was on edge. Johnny had been comforting Jihae the entire time, both clearly losing patience. Everybody had been ordered to turn their phones on, just in case the kidnappers decided to throw them off by contacting somebody who they didn't expect. They'd had several false alarms. Eventually, Taeyong's phone made a noise for a message alert and thinking it was Doyoung replying once he calmed down, he hurried to check his messages.

He could have been satisfied with an _"I need space",_ or even just one letter to at least tell him that he was safe, but instead, he got something that made his heart sink. A photo. His expression alarmed Johnny, who hurried over and snatched the phone out of the leader's grasp. The elder cursed, placing the phone back in his hand. Some of the others peered over, taking a look at the photo as Taeyong was completely frozen. "Prepare to leave."

"Wait," said Taeil, "we don't even know where they are, we need a place."

"What is it?" Detective Byun questioned from the other side of the room.

The leader scowled, clenching his free fist. "They've got Doyoung and Jieun. They're tied up somewhere."

"Let me see."

The detective made his way over, looking at the photo. Surely enough, they were both tied to posts inside of a building. Jieun had the slightest cut on her face, while Doyoung's lip was clearly burst and he had several cuts on his face. Taeyong stood up suddenly, rushing over to the door, close to where his guns were, on a table. All of the members close to him seemed to tense, and moments later, he slammed his fist into the wall, picking up his largest—and consequently the best—the sniper rifle. He hadn't used it in years, not since his father died.

"Calm down Taeyong," said Taeil, "we can't be reckless, where are you planning to go?"

"There's another message!" Detective Byun yelled.

The leader ran over, though not before slipping a revolver under his belt and took his phone back. He looked at the screen for a moment, furrowing his eyebrows at the text. "There's an address. They want me and Johnny to go. Alone."

"Alone? You can't possibly think that's a good idea!"

"They'll kill them if we don't! Johnny, come on."

"Taeyong, stop being reckless! We need to make a plan!"

"They won't wait forever, will they?"

Taeil sighed, clenching his jaw in frustration. "Sit down and listen to me, before all four of you end up dead. We need a plan. I have an idea."

* * *

"It's just a waiting game, now."

Doyoung scrunched up his face in agony as he began to slip back into consciousness. He involuntarily let out a quiet groan as he lifted his head, his vision still blurry and struggling to adapt to the dim light. He heard the crumbling of stones beside him and jerked his head in that direction, only to be met by a wave of pain. He felt a hand grip onto his hair and pull his head back. His body was pooled with adrenaline, but he couldn't do anything. He could feel rope tightly tied around his wrists and immediately knew what had happened. He coughed weakly, allowing blood to drip out of his mouth.

"Uncle Doyoung!" a quiet voice cried, one that he never wanted to hear somewhere like that.

He looked towards her, ignoring the pull at his hair as he saw another man come into his view. He walked towards Jieun and hit her, making Doyoung struggle against the rope on his wrists to get to them. His head was pulled back with more force, and the man who hit Jieun walked towards him. He kneeled down in front of him as his vision began to focus.

"You're awake?" the man asked, tapping his gun against Doyoung's face, "It was brave of you to play tag with your teammates out in the open. We know who you are."

The advisor could feel a constant, dull pain in his ribs. He couldn't exactly remember what happened before he fell unconscious, but he did remember why he'd left the house in the first place. It was all overwhelming. He saw the kiss, and he heard what Eunjin had to say. But as for "who he was", that made him laugh slightly, even through the pain. Of course they did. Everybody knew Neo Culture.

The man's gun slipped down his jawline and was pressed against the underside of his chin. "It was a bit of a surprise, I have to say. You're Lee Taeyong's little slut. Hanjae didn't see that coming. Well, he wasn't exactly there during his youth, so how would he know that Muyeol's little gang-life prodigy would swing that way."

Doyoung's eyes widened. People weren't supposed to know. The only people that knew were the members of Neo Culture, Jennie and her team, Detective Byun, and a closed circle from their high school. He wanted to say something along the lines of _"oh, that",_ but he didn't have the energy remaining to. He heard a snicker from the man behind him.

"Don't worry, he's not getting all of the attention. We also know who your uncle was. You should've come to us a _long_ time ago, but you're too old now. You have your own thoughts. So, What do you think Taeyong would do if you weren't just _his_ little toy? I bet he'd throw you out and use another one of his underlings to satisfy his needs, right?"

Doyoung shuffled himself as far back against the beam as he possibly could, but it didn't mean _anything._ The man behind him let go of his hair, and his head fell straight back down. He clenched his eyes shut, but upon feeling the rope being untied, he managed to lift his head and make eye contact with the man in front of him.

"What do you want?" he asked, rolling his wrists to relieve the tension that had built up from the way he'd been sat.

"That's for us to know, and you to find out all in good time," the man smirked, "move him into the back room."

Doyoung struggled as he was dragged to his feet by two men, but his body felt too weak to fight back. He was the locked door, seating, and what seemed to be a bar as he was pulled into a dark room. The two who moved him left, but the other man walked into the room and closed the door. He heard Jieun shout before the lock clicked and immediately fell into a panic.

"Should we get started?"

* * *

Taeyong clenched a gun in his hand, stood outside of a boarded door. He could tell from the shards of glass on the ground outside of the small building that it wasn't open, and probably hadn't been in years. He sneered. Their opponents were smart. They'd be uninterrupted there. Johnny was stood behind him, equally as enraged.

"Ready?" asked the leader.

Johnny looked down at the AK-47 in his hand. They were lucky it was a quiet backstreet. "Yeah. Let's go kick some ass."

"Follow the plan unless it's for the greater good to scrap it."

 _"That wasn't the plan,"_ said Taeil, through an earpiece.

"It's never in a plan to scrap the plan," said Taeyong, "but if either of these two end up injured, you'll be getting up close and personal with Johnny's torture equipment."

Taeil let out a sheepish laugh across the line. _"Understood."_

"Let's go."

Taeyong heavily knocked on the boarded door. If the plan didn't work, he didn't know what to do. His only natural response to such a situation was to kill everybody who even _thought_ about laying a finger on Doyoung or Jieun, and everybody else who was unlucky enough to come into contact with him at that moment.

"Name?" a voice spoke from the other side of the door.

Taeyong recalled the final message that they'd received from Doyoung's number, he sneered, rolling his eyes. "Lee Taeyong, fourth heir to the Dragons' faction."

They heard the door click, and the leader stepped back to allow it to open. When it did, he was surprised to see two men stood on the other side, but that was it. Holding an AK-47—because having his sniper rifle wouldn't make it any easier—he pushed the door and stepped into the building. Johnny followed after him and immediately ran over to Jieun.

"Jieun! Oh my God, I've never been so happy to see you," he said, "hold on, daddy will—"

"Step back," one of the men said, holding a gun to Johnny's head.

Taeyong also had a gun to him, but instead of his head, it was pushed right against his back. There must have been more men hiding. Jieun began to cry as her father was forced away from her.

"Both of you, on your knees. Drop the guns."

The leader clicked his tongue, sliding the gun toward the men when his knees collided with the ground. Johnny followed his actions, looking over to Jieun as she looked at him, teary-eyed.

"Where is Doyoung?" asked Taeyong, looking at the empty space beside Jieun, "You promised to return both of them."

"Wait your turn."

"Fucking tell me!" he shouted.

A gun was pointed at him again, and another man kicked him forward. Johnny was going go react when the gun turned to him. The man with the gun scowled. "Careful, Dragon. We haven't been ordered to keep you alive."

Taeyong was just about prepared to stick by the plan, but as he looked down at the ground, he heard a familiar voice shouting from another room. He immediately lifted his head, and Johnny seemed just as alarmed.

"Taeyong!" Doyoung shouted, "Help me!"

He sounded so desperate, so _scared._ Furious, Taeyong scanned the room for the men around him. Three of them. He let out a bitter sigh and clenched his fist against the ground. "You don't need to ask twice."

_"For God's sake, Taeyong! Stick to the plan, you idiot! You're playing right into their plan!"_

He stood up, grabbing the gun from the man in front of him. Swinging at his face, he threw the gun at Johnny with his spare hand. "Get your daughter out of here."

"But, Taeyong—"

"Do you _want_ her to see this?"

_"Taeyong, listen to me!"_

"Fuck, man. Fine! Jieun, close your eyes."

 _"Taeyong!"_  
  
"I'm saving Doyoung!"

_"You're ruining my plan! You know I hate that!"_

His forehead soon collided with the man's head, and he thrust his knee into his abdomen. The man's balance was thrown off. Taeyong heard Johnny deal with one of the other men. The third ran at the leader, only for the latter to step back and grab his arm, swinging him into the wall. He kept the first man down with a kick and took his chance to dive for an AK-47. He didn't have time to waste. Doyoung _needed_ him.

He loaded the gun while he was still kneeling on the ground, ignoring Taeil's shouting. Johnny was at an advantage. "John! Gun!"

The elder understood what he meant. He pushed back his opponent one last time and hurried over to Jieun, covering her ears and turning her curious eyes away from Taeyong. The leader moved back from where he was standing and shot at Johnny's opponent, creating an exit for him. The sound wasn't too unbearable. It was nothing more than a loud "click". But the blood, however, in that range, wasn't quite as lowkey.

"Get her out of here!"

_"Taeyong! You're so damn lucky I managed to get more silencers!"_

Taeyong turned back to the two who'd been troubling him, who were cowering away, realizing their mistake. One of them held their hands up in surrender, but he ignored them, shooting two rounds through his head. The final one began to run toward the door but couldn't make it that far. The leader didn't have time to ponder, but he looked down at his clothes, seeing the blood that had wound up splattered on him. He shook his head as he turned around, faced with the door. He couldn't hear anymore shouting from anybody on the other side.

He pulled the door open. Immediately, he was hit by a gust of cold air, and his eyes averted to the open window. On the ground, fresh blood remained, but there was nobody there. No Doyoung, no kidnapper. However, there was a note on the floor, stained red, and besides a small white card. Taeyong heard movement from behind him and hardly moved an inch. Looking closer, he shrunk down onto his knees and picked up the white card. _A photo._

The door behind him opened, and he heard people move into the room. His fist clenched against the floor as he looked at the photo. Doyoung—smothered in blood and missing his shirt. Taeyong didn't even want to think about what had happened. He dropped the photo onto the floor, his hand shaking as he reached for the paper. Another address, and written in clear, thick ink: _"Lee Taeyong, come alone. Bring anybody and we'll kill your little toy."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was originally going to have this one chapter be upwards of 10k, but I decided to split the chapter into two for ease of reading. I understand not everybody can sit there for that long and just _read_.
> 
> Errors (of OC names) have been changed in earlier chapters because I realized I double-named two characters. Also, I'm trying to add some humor by having the founders—minus Doyoung and Taeil—being reckless (and brainless) thugs, I hope nobody is annoyed by that lmao.
> 
> A lot happened in that chapter, huh? I answered a few questions (okay, like one?) and I've complicated everything, but I hope it doesn't feel too... thrown together? I don't know if it does. Feedback is greatly appreciated!


	7. Decoy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been... over a month, but here's a longer chapter, with some context to past events. I hope you enjoy!

_**August 2010** _

Saturday was usually a day in which Taeyong could rest. _Well,_ he treated every day like a Saturday. But that was—for the most part—irrelevant. That Saturday was different. He'd woken up at nine, which he never did, was showered and dressed by ten, which never happened often. Most unfamiliarly of all, he was wearing a suit. Not just one of the cheap, throw-away suits that his father bought him for celebrations, a nicer, far more exquisite suit which was delivered at his bedroom door along with a wake-up knock from his cousin. He'd groaned in response, but was met by a far more demanding knock.

As he tied his tie, Taeyong looked in the mirror. He just _couldn't_ get it right. He let out a frustrated sigh and stormed back to his bed, sitting down irritably. He hadn't noticed an additional presence in the room, but a deep laugh caught his attention. He looked up to see Jaehyun, also wearing a suit, stood by the door. "So, there is something you can't do? Aside from maths, obviously."

"This is stupid."

"You agreed, didn't you?" asked Jaehyun, sitting beside the elder on his bed.

"Well, duh. But I didn't expect to have to dress up all fancy."

"It's a ceremony, it makes sense."

Taeyong pulled the tie from around his neck and looked at it in his hands for a moment. "You came?"

"Of course I did. Why wouldn't I want to see my best friend get fussed over by a bunch of gangsters?"

"Is your father here?"

"He's staying for the ceremony, he can't be seen here."

"Yet you can?"

Jaehyun looked up, frowning. He probably shouldn't have been there, either. But he'd begged his father to let him. The younger teen stood up, walking over to the window. He looked at the fountain in the garden and sighed. "It's fine, nothing will happen."

"You sound so sure," Taeyong began, "but have you seen how many police officers have been hanging around the school?"

"What's your point?"

"They're totally onto us!"

"And what? It's not as though my father can just _leave,_ can he?"

"He wouldn't be the only person who has."

"But he's different, Taeyong. He's a cop. Everyone will think he's a rat."

"And? I thought my father 'supported his comrades'?"

There was a gentle knock on the door, though it wasn't quite a request for entrance. The door soon opened, and Taeyong's cousin stepped in. "What are you doing? The ceremony starts in five minutes."

"We're talking, obviously."

Jaehyun looked at Taeyong, though not surprised by the elder's brash response.

"You can't talk your way out of this one. You _agreed_ to take the oath."

"I did it to shut my father up."

She clicked her tongue, crossing her arms. "I'm not sure uncle will be happy that you're falsifying an oath."

"It's just some stupid show. It makes us look like fools."

"It's _tradition_. I can't believe our future relies on you."

"Taeyong," Jaehyun whispered, "should we go?"

"I can't go out there like this."

His cousin sighed, walking over. She snatched his tie out of his hand. "Unbelievable, you can't even dress yourself."

"I can!" Taeyong insisted.

"Just sit still, I'll tie it for you, and we can get this over and done with."

"I don't need your help!"

She sneered. "Right, of course you don't."

He scowled, grabbing his chain from beside his pillow. His cousin shook her head.

"You're so improper," she said, watching as he attached the silver around his neck.

"I'm being _stylish._ "

Jaehyun chuckled, as did Taeyong's cousin. She placed the tied fabric on his head, moving away.

_"Seulgi! Taeyong! It's time!"_

The housekeeper's voice beyond the door caused all three teens to grimace. Taeyong slipped the tie around his neck and tightened it, fixing it under his collar.

"I hope you like disgustingly strong alcohol," Seulgi commented.

"Alcohol is alcohol."

"You're fifteen!"

"You're only a year older than me, so you can't talk either."

"Alright!" Jaehyun complained, gently pushing Taeyong, "Let's go."

The elder let out a sigh. "Fine let's get this out of the way."

**— —**

In the large, open-spaced room, Taeyong was surprised to walk in and see rows and rows of people, all kneeling on the floor at either side of the room. Both Jaehyun and Seulgi returned to their parents, sitting in the said rows. There were probably somewhere near forty people, all watching _him._ His eyes trailed to his father, who was kneeling at the end of the long, carpeted walkway. They made eye-contact, and his father nodded, signaling for him to walk forward.

Taeyong took his first step towards the front of the room hesitantly. He'd seen a few ceremonies when he was younger, but since he never officially agreed to take the oath himself, he'd been removed from the ceremonies in recent years. After all, he was a risk to their secrecy. It all felt too real while he was walking down the grey carpet. Once he reached the end, Taeyong kneeled a few steps in front of his father. On a wooden tray, there was a small silver cup with the Dragons' logo engraved into it, a glass bottle, and an old family heirloom—an old revolver, a model from 1930, that had been used by his great grandfather in 1932 to kill a public official who had killed his kin, before the Dragons became an actual organization.

When he got to his knees, he looked up at his father. The man looked around at the rows of men, women, and children alike, and back to his son. He had a smug look which made Taeyong roll his eyes. "13th of August, 2010. I, Lee Muyeol, current commander of the Dragons, will appoint my son, Lee Taeyong, as my prospective successor."

Taeyong looked down at his hands as he held them on his lap. It felt like they were making a big deal out of nothing.

"Taeyong, do you agree to take the oath, right here and now—for life?"

"Yes," he replied, wanting to skip to the actual celebratory part, rather than drag himself through their 'tradition'.

"Repeat after me," his father said and cleared his throat, _"I_ _, Lee Taeyong, promise to devote my body and soul to the Dragons' name. I promise to answer only to Lee Muyeol, the third heir."_

Taeyong took a deep breath, looking at the photos on the wall of his great grandfather, his grandfather, and his father. One day they'd put him up there, too. "I, Lee Taeyong, promise to devote my body and soul to the Dragons' name. I promise to answer only to Lee Muyeol, the third heir."

 _"_ _Every action I take hereon shall bring nothing but honor to my, my superiors and the Dragons' name."_

"Every action I take hereon shall bring nothing but honor to my, my superiors and the Dragons' name," Taeyong repeated.

The final part was the one that he remembered. He'd heard it before, and he'd seen it be the very thing to cause the downfall of his father's men.

_"I accept that any action which has ill-effect on our name is inexcusable, and in the event of bringing disgrace upon the Dragons' name, I will return my soul by the commander's blade, and only then will I be excused."_

"I accept that any action which has ill-effect on our name is inexcusable, and in the event of bringing disgrace upon the Dragons' name..." he paused, looking down at the wooden tray, "I will return my soul by the commander's blade, and only then will I be excused."

_"I swear utmost loyalty to the Dragons, until death."_

"I swear utmost loyalty to the Dragons, until death."

His father leaned forward and lifted the glass bottle as though it was some sacred item when in reality, it wasn't. Taeyong watched as the silver cup was filled half-full with the liquid, and his father placed the glass bottle back on the tray. He lifted the cup and handed it to Taeyong. He could smell the alcohol from there. When the son took it into his hand, he scrunched up his nose, but quickly threw the liquid down his throat—ignoring the burning sensation—and swallowed it before the taste could sink in.

_"Long live the Dragons!"_

"Long live the Dragons."

* * *

Doyoung heard the door open. He could _hear_ Taeyong shouting. At the time, the kidnapper had been surprised by how quickly he arrived. While the extent of the advisor's injuries wasn't likely to cause a fatality, his entire body was overrun by pain and discomfort. The man had continued to punch him when they got into the other room, and just as things were about to escalate further, they heard the knocking. The man froze up, fumbling to take out his phone. Even then, the man's fear brought a smile to Doyoung's face. He pushed himself against the wall, propping his body up so he could at least be comfortable as he watched everything unfold.

His body was trembling gently as the kidnapper talked on the phone in an unfamiliar language. Doyoung looked at the room carefully, he didn't exactly have anywhere to escape to. But the window... if he could just get over there while the man was distracted, he could figure out a way out. Even if that meant jumping _through_ the window. Abruptly, the man began to speak Korean. Doyoung listened in carefully, wiping the blood from his face as the man turned away. "What do you mean? Boss, that's a terrible idea! Wait- I didn't mean that- I'll do it. Prepare the getaway driver."

"Getaway driver?" Doyoung muttered.

The man hung up, putting his phone back into his pocket. When he turned back to Doyoung, his expression immediately changed to something much more hateful. He walked towards the advisor and grabbed him by the shirt. "We're getting out of here, you'll be meeting the boss."

That wasn't good. If Taeyong was already there, he had his chance. He couldn't hear fighting from the other room. They must have been held up. He just needed, for once, to prompt Taeyong to be reckless. He needed him to get him out of there. Doyoung pushed the kidnapper back, running to the door. The added pressure on his body almost made him fall straight back down, but he caught himself on the wall. For once, he was going to direct Taeyong to do the very thing which they'd spent years trying to stop him from doing. "Taeyong! Help me!"

"Shut up!"

The kidnapper didn't take that well. He grabbed Doyoung by the shoulder and pulled him back, pushing him into the wall. He let out a weak cry when he hit the ground, pushing himself back up, but the man grabbed him and pushed him onto the ground. A punch sent the advisor's way, but he rolled his head and made the man punch the ground. He cursed, gripping onto Doyoung's neck.

"You're trying to get your boyfriend all worked up? You think he'll want you, even after the boss gets ahold of you?" said the kidnapper through gritted teeth, before his hands settled on the bottom of Doyoung's shirt, pulling it off, "Stay still, or you'll be cleaning his guts off of the floor."

Two punches later, the advisor allowed his head to fall onto the cold ground, tired eyes averting over to the door. He heard a quiet click, prompting him to look up. The man held a small camera in his hand. Doyoung extended his hand towards the door as the man tore a piece of the printed photograph away and began to scribble something down on it. As he placed it down, they both heard a gun load.

"John!" he heard Taeyong shout, from the other side of the door, "Gun!"

There were three shots, one after another. The kidnapper grabbed Doyoung's arm and pulled him from the ground. "Now, or I'll kill him right here!"

"T-Taeyong!"

The man's hand collided with his face and he was pushed towards the window. He could feel the man behind him as it was pushed open. "Get out!"

More gunshots. He felt a gun press into his lower back and was forced to climb out of the window, only to land on the other side with a thud. He rolled onto his back, groaning, and moved out of the way. Moments later, a van pulled up beside the building, and two men jumped out and grabbed Doyoung by his arms, dragging him into the van. The other man made his way in, and the door was closed. They missed their chance.

* * *

"Where the hell is he?" Taeil groaned, slamming his hand beside the dashboard.

He looked back at Johnny, who sat in the back of the van, with Jieun wrapped in a blanket, burying her face into her father. The latter shrugged. "He let me leave."

"And you left that psychotic asshole with the men who kidnapped his boyfriend?" the elder yelled.

"Language," Johnny snapped, "and he's _not_ psychotic, stop acting like you wouldn't react the same way."

"He _is!_ " he yelled, making Sungchan flinch as the younger sat in the passenger seat.

There had been an emergency change of plan and the majority of the others returned to the house, as they didn't actually know where to go. Taeil lifted his gaze as he saw movement, and began to roll the van forward when Taeyong emerged. But he had an expression which was familiar to the eldest and Johnny, as he peeked out of the front of the van.

"Doyoung isn't there?" asked the latter.

"Shit!" Taeil yelled.

"How many times have I told you to watch your fucking language?"

"Taeyong, get in!"

The leader ignored him. He reached into his pocket and lit a cigarette, looking around. Taeil caught glimpse of the photo in his hand and hung out of the window.

"What happened?"

"They've taken him somewhere else. The filthy bastards, he's covered in blood. I'm going to kill every last one of them."

"Do you want to go back to prison?"

"If it means Doyoung is safe," Taeyong snapped.

"If you go back to prison, you'll stay there! Hell, if you even slightly look at somebody funny you'll end up like a ragdoll for the top dog again."

"I could kill that asshole if I wanted to! Can I remind you who I am?"

"You're a fucking idiot, that's who you are."

"Keep your nose out of this, Taeil. I'm getting Doyoung back here safe. _Don't_ follow me."

"Lee Taeyong! If he's even slightly hurt, I swear to God I'm going to kill you when I get my hands on you!"

* * *

Doyoung was beginning to wonder if Taeyong had just abandoned him. The warehouse was quiet, for the most part. He could hear the fan that was jammed between the corrugated, rusted metal walls clicking every few moments, and the water that seeped through the breaks in the roof collide with the floor. The dust had settled on the ground after being disturbed, and he had to breathe it in. His back was aching from being thrown onto the ground and kicked. The more he thought, the more everything was making sense—Eunjin, the kidnappers, and then, Taeyong's absence—he was disposable.

Maybe he shouldn't have believed the leader when he told him that he was the one he loved. Taeyong was cheating on his ex, why was he stupid enough to think that he actually loved him? He felt foolish. The first time it had happened, they'd argued. It was after some talks with EXO. Taeyong had told him how Eunjin was bragging about him like he was some object. Doyoung was only supposed to relay information from Taeil, about how they'd been losing money, but the leader had held him for a conversation. He was just annoyed.

Doyoung had retorted how Taeyong was hardly somebody to brag about, but the latter agreed with him. He confessed that he wasn't sure if he wanted the relationship to continue. The advisor realized down the line that he shouldn't have let it happen. He should've pushed Taeyong away and told him to talk to Eunjin, but instead, he gave in. He'd thought about it before—what it would be like to date Taeyong. He let himself get pushed onto the desk and pulled the leader closer using his tie.

Doyoung couldn't remember when he started feeling something other than hatred about the elder, but he a rough idea that it was during high school. He didn't tell anybody about it, not until he confessed to Taeyong after he'd broken up with Eunjin.

He was brought back to his senses when he heard a snicker from the large man stood across the room. A whiff of cigarette smoke was sent in his direction, and sometime later, the man stood beside him. "So much for the passionate lover I was expecting, your boyfriend seems to think you're replaceable."

Maybe that was a good thing. Doyoung didn't want him to get injured, not because of his own negligence. If he hadn't been childish and ran away from the issue, he wouldn't have been caught out. He turned his head, trying to evade the scent of cheap cigarettes.

"We could easily turn this far more interesting, but none of my men feel like touching a Dragon's toy, so you're lucky they're all wimps."

"Taeyong will kill you," Doyoung spat, "just you wait."

"I've been waiting for years, but he doesn't seem interested. Now you're playing justice seekers? Who does he think he is? He abandoned his blood a long time ago."

"He doesn't need his blood, he knows what's right."

The man let out a laugh, smirking. "Can I remind you that Lee Taeyong is, first of all, the leader of your little organization, and second of all, a trained killer?"

"He kills people who deserve it!"

"All this talk of right or wrong, do you think he's exempt?"

"So, what about you? What the hell do you want?"

"We don't want, we have. Soon, this city will be at our mercy, and I'll kill that boyfriend of yours, and the rest of our opponents."

Doyoung scowled. If his hands weren't tied, he'd have already hit and run. But that wasn't an option.

"And what do you want now?"

"I'm getting you both out of the way before you irritate me anymore."

"You can try."

The man had a smug expression as he pulled a gun out of his belt. He knelt in front of the advisor and pushed the gun under his chin. "Don't try me, kid. Sit quietly and I won't teach you a lesson."

Doyoung scowled, feeling his lip twitch in annoyance. He wanted to trust Taeyong—he wanted to trust that he would rescue him. But now that there was an unborn child in the picture, he dreaded what would happen. He'd seen the leader when he was dating Eunjin, how they used to be overly touchy in public. It wasn't like that with them. He'd always thought Taeyong might have gone back to her, but now that it seemed more likely, it hurt. He didn't want to be pushed aside.

The advisor held his breath when the gun slipped further down his neck, and the man turned away. He eyed up some of his men and signaled to them. "Contact Lee Taeyong and tell him he has twenty minutes to get here before I feed his boyfriend to the dogs."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Of all of Taeil's plans, he'd never thought with every cell in his body that the elder was a lunatic. Taeyong slipped his revolver into his belt and twisted the ring on his finger as he looked at the tall warehouse. It wasn't too far from the one that he'd been held in. He clicked his tongue when he saw the van parked outside, and walked towards the door. He didn't know what was going to be happening on the other side, but it was quiet. He couldn't run in and start throwing threats around. He had to be cautious, even if that wasn't his way of doing things. He'd kill a whole army if it meant Doyoung was safe.

He pushed the door open and stepped inside. A middle-aged man looked at him with a surprised expression, and he grinned looking down. Taeyong's hand grazed his gun as he looked at Doyoung, who was lying on the floor, and turned toward him.

"So, Lee Taeyong," said the man, "you look even more like your father in person, we've yet to meet."

Taeyong grimaced, looking back at him with a hateful expression. "Choi Hanjae."

"Delightful, you know who I am," he replied, "you should have joined us when we gave you the chance, but instead..."

He scanned the younger up and down and laughed quietly, shaking his head. Taeyong wanted to shoot him right there. "You asshole."

"Did you enjoy having your entire family slaughtered before your eyes? And now, you even live in the same place that your father died in," he grinned. "How's your arm?"

"Stop pissing around!"

"Hey, hey. If you want your toy alive, you'll come here and drop the gun."

Taeyong clenched his fist, walking over to his father's killer. He pulled the gun out of his belt and dropped the bullets out of it before throwing it onto the floor. Shortly after, a man in a full-face mask approached him, like the kidnappers he'd faced. A large hand was placed on his shoulder and he was promoted to get onto the floor. He didn't forget to express his distaste on the way down.

"Be careful with his shoulder, he's got a bullet or two in there."

"You don't give a shit about my body, stop acting like you do," Taeyong snapped, his eyes meeting Doyoung's.

The latter looked away, but the elder could faintly see his eyes glisten. He wanted to tear the man apart, painfully and slowly. Nobody got away with hurting people that he cared about. Taeyong looked down at his knees as the masked man pushed his head down toward the ground.

"So, tell me, Taeyong," said Choi Hanjae, "did you not want to kill me?"

"Why should I bother? You filthy asshole."

"I commanded the slaughter of your entire family, and you don't want to kill me?"

"Of course I do," Taeyong spat, side glancing at the masked man, "but I've had my own life to live."

Choi Hanjae nodded, not that he could see. "Correct. We've been laying low for a while, so you haven't met true force. You defeated the former largest gang in the city, fair and square—kicked them out like they were disposable toys."

"Because they were, and so are you."

"Hold your tongue, Lee," he started, "well, I haven't said that in years."

"So, spill. What the hell do you want?"

Taeyong heard footsteps walk closer as he waited in anticipation. He waited, but soon, a gun was loaded beside his ear and the muzzle was pressed against his head.

"Get away from him!" Doyoung shouted, trying to get up, but he couldn't.

"I should have killed you that night. I should have dragged you to the front of the... what? Perhaps sixty people that were in the manor that night? If we forget about your father, Mr Jung, and the men who tried to face us but failed."

Taeyong could almost hear him grin as he spoke, and it made him want to get up and kill everybody in his way. He felt adrenaline surge through his body and clenched his fist as the gun moved against his head.

"If I'd have killed you, their only hope, in front of them, would they have surrendered? If I cut your head off like I did your father's, would they have all complied like lost little lambs?" the man chuckled, "I guess not, loyalty and all. But we could have repurposed the women and children in your sacred faction. What did they even do? Produce heirs? How comes your father accepted _you_ as his heir? He was a smart man, but that was the most foolish thing he ever did."

"Why did you kill him? You used to be a member!" Taeyong yelled, pushing against the hands holding him down.

"Because I woke up from the illusion like nobody else could. It was all just a ridiculous excuse for a family of sadists to pretend to be saints!"

Taeyong gritted his teeth. He remembered saying a similar thing to his father, two months before he died.

"Killing people because 'they deserved it'? Having people pay you to kill their opposition? It was all for show!" said Choi Hanjae. "You were all the same. You didn't have any clear goals, your father was too strung on glory and honor to even bother striving for what his ancestors wanted. It was cowardly. I'm embracing my darkness."

"You're fucking psychotic," Taeyong snapped, "what about all the kidnapping, huh?"

"Something to keep my boys happy. But I don't want to hear anything about morals from you, how many people have you killed? I read my successor's notes, and from what I saw, you were signed up for your ninth kill. That surely must have grown since 2013, did it not?"

"I'm doing what I need to for my people."

Choi Hanjae let out a mocking laugh. "Your people?"

"I'm getting us where we want to be," Taeyong replied, "no matter what it entails."

"You're setting all of 'your people' up for failure," the elder scoffed. "I've heard enough, you're embarrassing."

Doyoung began to shout again when the gun returned to Taeyong's head. The latter could tell by the movement that Choi Hanjae was going to pull the trigger. He heard a laugh and waited.

"Let go, I want to see his face."

Taeyong's head was pulled up when the man let go, and he glared at the man in front of his face. Old, rotten, and filthy. He resisted the urge to spit in his face, as it would probably make the situation worse rather than better. Choi Hanjae smiled at him, and that just irked him even more.

"You have your father's eyes," he said. "That same stare—you look exactly like your father before I killed him. So, I can tell that you won't abandon your pride, even in death. Your father didn't try to beg or change my mind, he just took it."

"You betrayed him."

"That was long ago, kid. He merely saw his men as pawns. Me included," said Choi Hanjae. "Now, that's enough talking."

Taeyong glanced over at the door before the gun was raised again. He was beginning to wish he'd just get it over and done with.

"Command your men to join me and I'll spare their lives."

"Never," Taeyong scoffed. "They hate scumbags like you."

Behind him, there was the sound of something hitting the floor. Something metal. Everyone looked over, and Choi Hanjae furrowed his eyebrows.

"Boys," he said, looking at his masked men. "Do make sure that our Dragon doesn't have anybody on his trail."

One man nodded and walked over to the door with a rifle in his hands. He kicked over a metal canister and looked behind the cargo in the corner. "There's nobody, boss."

"You idiot, look outside too."

The man obliged, looking out of the door. He disappeared beyond the corrugated metal wall and Choi Hanjae let out a snarky laugh. He looked down at Taeyong. "You didn't bring anybody, did you? I told you to come alone."

"Do I look like I'd risk Doyoung's life like that?"

"Not sure, you seem as heartless as your father."

"Well, I wouldn't."

"Even to save your own ass?"

Taeyong laughed, looking down. "I wouldn't sacrifice him for my own life."

"How romantic," the elder mocked. "It's a shame you're both going to be blown to pieces."

He looked over the door. The other man hadn't returned. He rolled his eyes, looking over to the other men who were just as suspicious. He signaled for another to go after him.

"Useless, he's probably fell in a ditch or something. This place has been left to rot since money gripped the gov."

"Maybe you should train your men better, then."

"Keep that mouth of yours shut before I jam this goddamn gun into it."

Taeyong's eyes averted to Doyoung. The latter looked miserable. He glanced at him, coated in dry blood. The advisor looked down upon seeing his right hand move, and he held out four fingers, pointed toward the floor. He furrowed his eyebrows when he tucked his ring finger behind his hand. His eyes soon met the elder's again and he nodded.

"Hey, what are you doing?" asked Choi Hanjae. "Do I look like a fool to you?"

"Do you want the honest answer or the one that will help you sleep at night?"

Taeyong drew a sharp breath when the elder's foot was slammed into his stomach and he grabbed him by the collar. "You're getting cocky?"

"Boss!" one of the men shouted. "They're—"

The sound of two gunshots. Choi Hanjae's gaze shot up and he held a gun to Taeyong's head as unfamiliar faces ran into the warehouse. One, however, did look familiar. Out of the group of five, he stood out. He looked down at his hand and grimaced, seeing the scar. "Jung stuck with you, after his father was killed because of your family? It's a pity he'll be losing you, too."

"Drop the gun, asshole," Jaehyun shouted. "We might just go easy on you."

"Go easy on me?" he laughed.

He moved the gun, pointing it down at Taeyong's body rather than his head, and shot. Jaehyun was held back by Yuta as their leader shouted, curling over on the ground. A shot to the side. He squirmed, holding his hand over the wound. He muttered something as Choi Hanjae edged towards Doyoung.

"He's next, turn away and leave."

"No artery was damaged, but if we don't get him to a professional, he'll bleed out in maybe, ten to twenty minutes. The bullet might have punctured an organ," said Taeil from the back.

"Fuck," Yuta muttered, "what do we do?"

"Shut the hell up, all of you!" Choi Hanjae yelled.

Doyoung looked over to Taeyong, a lump forming in the back of his throat as he looked at the blood pooling from his side. He swallowed it back and gritted his teeth. "Taeyong?"

"I'm alright, don't worry."

"You're going to make me puke, disgusting freaks."

Doyoung clenched his eyes shut as a gun was pointed at him. Suddenly, there were running footsteps heading toward them. He heard Choi Hanjae turn around, and opened his eyes. Even Taeyong turned in the direction of the door. With blood covering his hands—a knife in one hand and a revolver in the other—Shotaro ran toward them. Choi Hanjae lifted his gun, but before he could pull the trigger, Shotaro was grabbed by the shoulder. Detective Byun. He pushed him back and moved in front as the trigger was pulled.

Doyoung's eyes widened, and he pulled at the rope tied around his hands. They weren't there before. There was a loud whistle as the bullet tore through the air and hit Byun just below the collarbone.

There wasn't much time for acknowledgment, as guns were pulled out by the door, and the last remaining men were shot. Doyoung lifted his hands and pulled at the rope around his wrists with his teeth, managing to pull it loose and run over to Taeyong, who was still conscious. He looked over to Detective Byun to see Shotaro beside him, clearly shocked and shaken. He felt Taeyong grip his hand and looked down at the elder.

"Are you angry?"

"Is now _really_ the time? You idiot!" Doyoung yelled. "I'm not angry, I could never be. I'm just... It's a lot to take in. A child? That's kind of huge."

"I'm glad you're safe," said Taeyong.

"You took your time."

"I'm sorry," he frowned, "but I had to steal somebody's car to get here, Taeil insisted on following—but I didn't want to risk it."

Doyoung nodded, adding his hand on top of Taeyong's to stop the bleeding. "They followed anyway. But stop talking, for once. Just focus on breathing."

"I've been shot more than once, Doie, I know what I'm doing."

"Just shut up."

At the other side of the room, Jaehyun shot a masked man who was protecting Choi Hanjae, before focusing his attention on the man himself. He edged toward him and shot the gun out of his hand. He grabbed him and pushed him to the floor as the man shook, holding up his arms in defense. "I-I'm not Choi Hanjae!"

"Don't talk out of your ass," Jaehyun snapped, loading his gun again. "Do I look like a fucking idiot?"

"I'm really not! I'm just a f-fake. I got into some trouble with him, and he told me to kill Lee Taeyong."

Jaehyun looked over to Taeyong, who furrowed his eyebrows. It was true that they'd never actually seen Choi Hanjae's face, at least not since before their fathers' murders. It hadn't exactly been a recent photo, either. He never showed himself during the shooting.

One of Choi Hanjae's men stormed over, gun in hand. "Have you forgotten his orders?"

"Stay out of it, asshole," Jaehyun warned.

Before Jaehyun could shoot him, he shot the decoy. But he was soon shot in the back by Shotaro.

"What are you waiting for? Kill him! He shot the detective!"

"Taeyong?" asked Jaehyun.

"Kill him," he said weakly, "and get us the fuck out of here."

Shotaro was quick to oblige, shooting him twice in the chest before he could object. He closed his eyes, turning away.

"An ambulance is on the way," Taeil yelled, as Yuta finished off the last of their foes.

"Are you mad? The cops will get involved."

"We have a cop, here. We'll get the blame if he dies."

"Jaehyun, can't you see the state that they're both in? Not to mention, they're not the only two injured!" Doyoung shouted.

Jaehyun sighed but nodded. He dropped his gun onto the floor and looked over to Yuta, who was gripping his bleeding arm. "You alright?"

"You don't care, so don't pretend you do. Bastard pulled out a knife when I knocked his gun out of his hands."

"Taeyong! Taeyong!" Doyoung yelled, catching everyone's attention as the leader's hand slipped from his grip. "Don't you dare leave me!"

* * *

**September 2013**

Taeyong woke up hearing shouting beyond his bedroom door, and immediately sat up to look at Jaehyun, who was asleep among piles of covers on the ground. It had been a long day of listening to adults running their mouths about matters that meant little to the teens. The younger of the two began to wake up, shuffling onto his back to sit up. He yawned as he looked over to Taeyong, and they both looked just as confused as each other. Upon hearing a gunshot, Jaehyun stood up.

"What the hell is going on?" Taeyong snapped, reaching under his pillow to get his gun.

"Wait!" Jaehyun yelled, "What if it's a raid?"

"Then we walk all over those bastards and send them to hell."

The younger didn't think it was a good idea, but when Taeyong ran out of the door, he followed—unarmed. People were running down the hallway towards the stairs, carrying far larger guns. One of the men stopped, bowed, and handed Jaehyun a revolver out of his pocket. Both teens looked at him in confusion.

"We're being attacked. Mr Lee and Mr Jung told us to protect you both. Please, come with me to the basement."

"Like hell I will!"

Jaehyun turned to look at Taeyong, watching as he loaded his gun and began to walk with the rest of the men. The younger pulled him back, ignoring his friend's complaints. "Are you crazy? Do you want to get killed?"

"I'm doing what I've been trained to do!"

"Please, your father doesn't want you to engage. It's an old battle. Not worth your involvement."

"Taeyong!" Seulgi shouted from down the hallway, "Stop being stubborn and listen to him!"

"I promised to give my life for our battles, and I'm going to keep my word."

"Seriously?" his cousin scoffed, "It was only three years ago when you told us you only agreed to take the oath to keep uncle quiet, not to mention you told him not that long ago that you weren't going to be his successor."

There was further gunfire, and Jaehyun felt his friend pull away from his grip. He looked down the hallway, gritting his teeth. The younger friend could tell that he wanted to protect them all. "Taeyong, we can collect all of the children. If we take them into the basement, we can protect them."

"Exactly!" the man yelled, pushing the leader's son further down the hallway, "The women and children need your help."

Taeyong scoffed. "The women can protect themselves."

"Be a gentleman, Taeyong," Seulgi added.

"Shut up!"

"Come on, man. I don't want to lose you!" Jaehyun yelled, " _Please,_ Taeyong. You're my best friend, I'm not going to leave you behind."

The conflict sounded as though it was getting closer. Taeyong was shaking, tightly gripping onto the handle of his gun. His finger lingered over the trigger, even if there was nobody to use it against. He cursed, forcing Jaehyun's grip from his arm, and turned around. Before his friend could react, he grabbed his hand and ran. Grabbing Seulgi as he ran past, Taeyong pulled them both down the hallway. He waited until they were out of sight, and let go.

"A warning would be nice."

"Both of you get into the basement, I'll collect people."

"Not happening! I'm helping you!" Jaehyun yelled.

Seulgi crossed her arms. "Me too, some of the children are scared of you."

"For God's sake, fine. Let's hurry."

Jaehyun smiled as Taeyong ran into a room and began to look around for anybody who remained. After a moment of staring, he chuckled and began to search. Sure, he was scared. He was _terrified._ But he knew he was in good hands. His father and Mr Lee wouldn't let any harm come to them. They'd defeat the enemy and they'd all be together again. Like a family.

They rounded up the masses of relatives and children in the house, even dragging the cleaning staff into the basement. When they were sure that they had as many people as they could find, they locked the door, and Taeyong grabbed a new gun from the weapon storage. He walked out with an AK-47 and waited in front of the door. Jaehyun took it as his mission to comfort the younger children, ignoring how some of them called him "the cop's son" and hardly acknowledged him. He found his gaze drifting to Taeyong, who hardly faltered, even when the sound of the fight grew closer and closer.

Jaehyun looked up to Taeyong, even though he tried to hide it. He didn't want to be "the cop's son", he wanted to be like his friend. He wanted to fiercely protect his family as the elder did without a second thought, but he was scared. He was just a corrupt cop's son. His ties to the Dragons were merely his friendship with Taeyong, and his father was an outsider who just so happened to have taken the oath at a young age. He didn't want Jaehyun to do the same thing, he hardly liked that he was so close to the leader's son.

"Taeyong!" Seulgi yelled, standing up, "There's somebody in the tunnel!"

That was the last thing he wanted to hear. He ran over—gun in hand—and pressed his ear against the door. The tunnel was a secret to non-members. Nobody should have known about it; unless it was an internal affair. There were voices from beyond the door, quiet, but there. He clenched his jaw, hand settling on the handle.

"What are you doing?" asked Seulgi, grabbing his arm.

"I'm not letting us get ambushed, we might take them by surprise."

"You're a fucking lunatic, Taeyong," said another of his cousins, Irene.

"Who do you think you are? Your father? Do you think you can take them on and protect us like him?"

He muttered a curse, pulling the door open. On the other side, four men quickly pulled up their guns. But he was just as fast. Two bullets tore through the air from the AK-47's muzzle, and in response, bullets were fired in Taeyong's direction. He jumped out of the way, landing in front of the children and women that they had managed to gather. Behind him, Jaehyun held onto a young girl who had clung to him when shots were fired. Seulgi and Irene started leading the children into another room in the basement.

"Drop your gun, Lee Taeyong. We know it's you. Surrender and we won't kill you in front of your family," said a man with a heavy accent, "oh, and friends."

Jaehyun gritted his teeth, carrying the young girl into the other room. If they knew he was there, then...

"Where is my father?" asked Taeyong, "Where are the adults?"

There was a laugh from the man, and footsteps continued in their direction. "Kid, do you want to join us? You have potential."

"Where is my father?" he repeated, his finger hovering over the trigger.

"Mr Lee and Mr Jung are both dead, the same can be said about the Dragons' best soldiers. If you're smart—" the man walked around the corner, "—you'll join us."

The man's eyes averted to the room where all of the others had moved to, and he smiled. Jaehyun emerged from the room, holding the gun he'd been given. His hands were shaking, and he fixed his gaze on the two men in his sight.

"You bastard!" Taeyong shouted, "I'll kill you all—"

"What a foul mouth," the man scowled, and he signaled behind him.

Soon, a man walked in. Eyes shifted to the thing in his hand, and Taeyong's face immediately dropped. Behind him, Jaehyun dropped his gun. A head was thrown onto the floor in front of the leader's son. He shuffled back as blood dripped onto the ground, and seeing the tattoo on the man's neck, a tear slipped down his face.

"Join us, or we'll be taking your head back to our captives, the rest of your family," his eyes shifted back to the room again, "surely you wouldn't want them to see their leader's bastard son being killed, would you?"

Taeyong lifted his gun, ready to shoot. But before he could, there was a sudden whistle from behind him. He looked up as a bullet tore through one of the man's comrades', chest. There was a scream before the basement became a bloodbath. Taeyong shot at the men aimlessly, his mind clouded by a fog of hatred and mourning. More bullets struck back, and a man ran past, breaking through into the back room.

A bullet struck Taeyong's shoulder moments before he shot one of the men in the head, finishing him off. His hearing was faint. He could hardly hear the massacre behind him, as Jaehyun and Seulgi protected the others. Taeyong took a deep breath as he continued to shoot, missing often. He ran out of bullets. Behind him, it fell silent. As another bullet hit him, he fell back. Taeyong heard a familiar voice shout as there were three consecutive shots, but he couldn't see what was happening.

Something was unfolding, but he couldn't do anything. He couldn't move. He heard footsteps, and soon, Jaehyun came crashing into his view, slipping onto his knees. He was blurry. He held his hands over the elder's shoulder, panicking.

"Was it you?" asked Taeyong, his voice weak.

"What?"

"The one who shot him. Did you kill them?"

A tear dripped onto Taeyong as Jaehyun tried to stop the bleeding. The latter clenched his eyes shut. "I didn't shoot the first shot, but I killed him. I-I could have stopped them."

"I'm glad," the elder sighed, "I was waiting for the day when you'd take your first life."

"Shut up."

"And the others?"

Jaehyun looked into the other room, seeing blood splattered all over the room, with masses of bodies laying around. "They're alright, just hold on. I'm going to call an ambulance."

"Liar."

"Shut up, you'll bleed out. I can't lose you," Jaehyun cried, "you're like a brother to me."

"I'm not just anybody, I won't die."

"You're too cocky."

Taeyong coughed weakly, and blood began to dribble out of his mouth. Nonetheless, he chuckled. "That's my charm."

"No, it isn't."

Jaehyun wiped the blood, looking around in a panic. Without a second thought, he took his bloody hands away and pulled off his shirt. He tied it around Taeyong's shoulder, under his arm. Once it was tight enough, he pulled the elder onto his side and took out his phone.

"Don't choke while I'm calling the ambulance."

"I'll try."

"I mean it Taeyong, don't leave me," said Jaehyun, "you're the only person I have left..."

* * *

**A Few Weeks Later...**

"Taeyong," Jaehyun called out, walking around the corner.

The younger had a bandage wrapped around his hand. He glanced down at Taeyong who sat in his suit, with his arm in a cast, and sat beside him. The funeral hall was quiet, as not many wanted to risk being caught up in another incident. Survivors from the attack had dropped from the radar, and they weren't sure _exactly_ who was left.

"Eunjin told me you left, I wanted to check on you."

Jaehyun turned and met Taeyong's gaze, but it wasn't like it usually was—cold and sometimes downright intimidating—he looked sad. The latter sighed, looking away. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" asked Jaehyun, puzzled.

"Being your friend."

"That's generally something you say 'thank you' about."

"If you didn't know me, your father—"

"Shut up."

Taeyong looked up, hearing movement. Soon, an arm wrapped around his uninjured shoulder, and Jaehyun hugged him. The elder closed his eyes, placing his hand on the other's back.

"It's not your fault, none of it is. My father made an agreement with your family long before either of us were born, it would have happened eventually anyway."

Jaehyun heard a weak cry from the elder and raised his eyebrows. Taeyong had never cried in his presence. He gripped onto the back of the younger's suit jacket and took a deep breath. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"We've got the others, we can figure something out. You have Eunjin, too. She's a catch, don't ruin what you have."

"Have you got somewhere to go? Family to stay with? I think I might get sick of living alone in that huge house."

"I have no one, I've already told you that. What if we got the others to move in? We could have a bro house."

"Bro house," Taeyong mocked, "that sounds kind of fun."

"Right, we'll do it," Jaehyun insisted, pulling away from the hug, he held his fist out for Taeyong, and waited until the elder returned the gesture, "just think, nobody can hold us back from whatever we want to do."

The elder nodded, "Jae, do you remember what we used to joke about in high school?"

"Of course, that wasn't that long ago."

"Should we do it?" he asked, "Should we fight until we get to the top?"

"I like the sound of that," a familiar voice spoke from around the corner, and they turned to see the others stood watching.

Johnny stood ahead, his arms crossed with a foolish grin plastered on his face. Beside him, Jihae held the one-year-old Jieun in her arms. Taeyong smiled, standing up. Jaehyun soon followed.

"Let's do it!" Yuta yelled.

"Then, it's decided," said Taeyong, "let's fight until the end, it's time for a change around here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me a month to write 8k words, but in my defense, college has been awfully demanding recently, but I apologize!


	8. Reveal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A (semi?) special chapter. There's some context into the past in the middle which may or may not be important for the next "mini-arc". Or, at least some of it is, but it's pretty low-key.
> 
> A quick warning for the underage tag (briefly) in this chapter, once again, not full-on, because no.

It was potentially the most terrifying moment in Doyoung's life. He sat in the ambulance beside Taeyong, who was lying there—unconscious—with an oxygen mask tightly clung  
onto his face. Both of their hands were drenched in blood. Even though the paramedics tried to fuss over him and the rather minor injuries he sustained, he shrugged them off and had told them to focus on Taeyong, even if there wasn't much they could do.

The hospital felt as though it was a lifetime away, and time was passing painfully slowly. Every slight incline on the road frustrated Doyoung excessively as the ambulance jumped around on the surface. He couldn't even imagine how they looked to the paramedics. There they had been, sat by a roadside. Taeyong was unconscious in Doyoung's bloody arms, and the suited detective was hardly holding onto his consciousness. Yuta was pacing, hands stuffed in his pockets as he walked along the side of the road, his shirt sleeve torn open and stained dark red.

They hardly moved far from the warehouse, as moving both Taeyong and Detective Byun seemed more of a chore than a simple task. They moved far enough for the paramedics to _not_ see the two men lying dead by the entrance to the building, one with two gunshot wounds to the chest and the other with a slit across his neck which was no longer oozing with blood. If they saw those two, they'd have to investigate further or at least call the police, and they'd soon discover a further five or six corpses inside. They didn't have time to destroy the evidence and clean the place up—or the alternative, burn it to the ground.

Questions would have been asked anyway, not just anybody who gets caught in gunfire in Capitol. Especially in the southwestern quarter, which was hardly as rough as the others. In fact, a paramedic had questioned about the bullets that had been used, to which Doyoung obviously said he didn't know. He wasn't Taeil or Johnny, he couldn't look at a bullet and pinpoint exactly what material was used, its size, or the country of origin. All he cared about was that Taeyong needed to be seen by a qualified doctor, and soon.

Anxiety overran Doyoung's body as he impatiently tapped against the floor, watching Taeyong's chest rise and fall slowly. He knew something bad was going to happen, and he could've prevented it. He didn't have to give up convincing the elder to leave the kidnapping case to the cops—who really, they hadn't given the chance to prove themselves—nor did he have to run out of the manor rather than talking to Taeyong and Eunjin. He couldn't help but feel responsible.

**_Early 2011_ **

"Doyoung," Taeil called, carrying a folder into the room.

The aforementioned looked up from his homework, and the elder raised an eyebrow. Doyoung usually did his homework the day it was set. He was more organized than anybody Taeil knew. But even he had a bad day, it seemed.

"Well, well. Look at you, doing your homework the morning it's due. Do you want to copy mine, too?"

The younger groaned. "Drop it, Taeil. I had a long night."

"Oh? What were you doing? Have you got a social life now?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Doyoung as Taeil sat down, pulling a chair over to his desk.

"Have you heard?"

"Yeah, for a few years."

Taeil rolled his eyes. "Weird, because you tend to ignore me. There are two new students coming today."

"Two?" asked Doyoung, grabbing his ruler. "Twins?"

"No, I don't think so. But don't you think that means there's going to be a bit of excitement going on here, for a while?"

"I don't really care."

"Of course you don't," Taeil sighed.

He watched as the younger continued to work like he wasn't even there. "How have I been friends with you for four years?"

"Neither of us fusses about the boring things," Doyoung replied. "Oh, right. Have you looked over those books that we were given?"

"Not yet, that's on tonight's plans."

"Well, if you wanted to, we could read them together at the—"

The sound of shouting and running down the hallway caught everybody's attention. Gazes drifted to the door, and Doyoung's eyes widened. Something was happening, that much was obvious. He sighed, pushing his homework away, and stood up. As he was going to slip toward the door, his classmate shot into the room. He didn't even have to see his face to know who he was. Tall, black hair that was practically drenched in gel, and the absence of a blazer—Johnny Suh. A troublemaker if Doyoung had ever seen one. He didn't work alone, he and Nakamoto Yuta were usually glued together. But it seemed like somebody had pried them apart.

Behind him, two unfamiliar males burst into the room, one after another. The first, Doyoung thought, hardly looked strong. He came to a sudden stop when he ran into the room and saw Johnny stood on the other side of a desk. There was a smug grin on the first male's face as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. Doyoung looked him over quickly before anything could kick off again. He liked to know who was going to be getting on his nerves, and he was sure the stranger's face would linger in his mind.

Sharp features, red hair. He stood perhaps a few inches shorter than Johnny, which would make him the same height as Doyoung himself. He had a scar beside his eye, and a semi-fresh cut on his right cheek. His friend in tow was taller. His hair was brown, clearly also dyed. He looked slightly more intimidating. He watched the red-haired male, rather than Johnny, and looked unscathed, for the most part. Doyoung did, however, notice his bruised knuckles. The strangers were trouble, for definite.

"So, is this where you were running to for protection?" asked the red-haired male, looking around. "I'm not sure if any of these people will help you, and you lost your friend. He ran away with his tail between his legs."

"Not so big now, is he?" asked the other.

Johnny didn't look amused, but Doyoung knew him. That wouldn't get to him. He might have been pretty unreasonable in the past, but both he and Yuta were taps away from being suspended. "I don't have time for this, do you? I'm sure there are better things you could be doing."

"You're the one who called us strays," the red-haired male stepped forward, "don't you think you owe us an apology?"

"You? An apology?" Johnny scoffed. "Not happening."

"Then fight us."

"Two on one? Don't you think that places you at an unfair advantage? Unless you're both weak as shit."

"Fight me, then," the redhead insisted. "You need to know who's the real boss around here."

That made sense, Doyoung thought. Johnny and Yuta were at the top of the delinquent foodchain. Well, at least in their school. Doyoung and Taeil _hated_ trouble, especially the trouble that came in the form of ridiculously strong yet foolish idiots. Johnny and Yuta were failing their studies, and Doyoung was certain that the strangers were, too. If they were the new students, it was safe to say their old school threw them out.

"You know what, fuck it. I won't have you pushing me around," Johnny grimaced.

Doyoung's heart sank in his chest as the taller ran one hand over his other fist, looking up at the red-haired stranger. Beside him, Taeil stood up and moved out of the way, pulling Doyoung. The latter stood up and moved by the window, waiting with his arms crossed. A teacher would arrive eventually, and they'd probably be freed of at least two troublemakers. He watched as the red-haired delinquent pulled his blazer from his back and passed it to his friend, who also shifted back.

There was a scar on the red-haired stranger's forearm, which made Doyoung raise an eyebrow. Roughly two or three inches in length, running diagonally over the back of his arm. It couldn't have been just any fight injury. It looked like it had come from a knife. The closer he looked, the more questions that came to mind. There was an elaborate black mark on the side of his neck, and upon following it, he noticed that it wasn't just some haphazardly scribbled ink—as little sense as that made—the stranger had a tattoo on his back. If the scar wasn't enough to set off an alarm in his mind, that was certainly a deal-sealer. What youth their age had actual, legit tattoos, and that big?

Johnny shifted forward, arms readied in front of him with his fists balled. The red-haired stranger hardly moved. He smirked, watching Johnny, but he didn't act. "Does this look like a boxing ring to you?"

"You wanted to fight, so fight. If you lose, you walk out of here, and you don't come back."

"And if I win?"

Silence. The absence of an answer certainly didn't make the stranger let his guard down, as Johnny's fist was hauled in his direction. He dodged it, making the taller punch the air. He smirked. Johnny was taken aback, and he stood himself back up again. He scowled, "you won't."

"Say that when you land a punch."

"You little—"

The red-haired stranger's knee was thrust upwards, landing in Johnny's abdomen. He stumbled in surprise, feeling an ache strike through his body. Next, he was kicked and fell back into a heap with a table. There was a snicker from the second stranger, and he made eye contact with his friend. At least they were getting entertainment out of it.

He was up in a flash, dusting himself down. He couldn't give up that easily, he wouldn't be able to face Yuta—or Jihae, his girlfriend, for that matter—if he bowed to some random transfers. He immediately ran forward again, fist ready. He threw it towards the redhead, but it was caught in his hand. "You're all bark, no decent bite."

He pushed Johnny's hand aside and let go, stepping back as he stumbled forward. He was too busy laughing to acknowledge the taller's action, and the latter landed a punch. The stranger placed his fingers where he'd been punched and looked at Johnny, who was grinning. It wasn't much more than a light tap to him, he'd been punched harder by his cousins. The redhead punched back, the first hardly skimming the taller's face, but the second—a surprise attack—landed on Johnny's jaw. The scuffle continued, punch after punch, with the occasional dodges and kicks from the stranger's behalf.

As Taeil watched, Doyoung pulled him aside. The uneasy expression immediately caught the elder's attention. Doyoung never plainly showed his emotions. "This is bad news, really bad news."

"How? Johnny and Yuta are finally being knocked off of their pedestal."

"Look at red," Doyoung whispered, "he looks like a big deal."

"If you think he's attractive, just say so."

"Taeil! That's not what I'm talking about."

The elder hummed, "sure."

"You're impossible. Fine, think what you want."

Doyoung watched as the stranger slammed his forehead against Johnny's, and soon lifted his knee again. There was blood. Not a lot, but it was still there. Johnny stumbled back, taking a harsh breath. He was clearly worn out. The red-haired stranger seemed indifferent. Taeil drew a sharp breath as Johnny crashed into a chair again, only that time, he didn't get up. The stranger dragged him away from the chair. Doyoung contemplated stepping in. Johnny was pushed against the floor, and a punch landed on his jaw again.

"Taeyong, stop," the brown-haired stranger called, and hurried to his side, "they're here."

Doyoung looked over to the door. It was none other than the principal himself. He _never_ got involved with fights. He shook his head, looking at the blood on both students. "Clean yourselves up, and then both of you—in my office."

Taeil looked at Doyoung, and the younger looked down at Johnny, who pushed the newly-named Taeyong aside to get up.

"Lee Taeyong, Jung Jaehyun," said the principal, "we need to talk."

"When?"

The brashness of Taeyong's answer made Doyoung nervous just by hearing it. He'd never reply like that to an adult. Everything seemed to add up, he thought, and it was unlikely the redhead would last long in school.

Later on, outside of the principal's office, Taeyong and Jaehyun walked out. The former had a burst lip and another cut on his face, but he was no longer covered in blood. They didn't expect to meet their enemies the second they left the room, but there Johnny and Yuta were, waiting. Taeyong scoffed. "Back for more?"

"No," Johnny replied, "that's not it."

"Then what could you possibly want?" asked Jaehyun.

"To apologize," said Johnny in a hurry, not wanting to hold on to the words for too long.

"What a surprise."

Both Johnny and Yuta watched as Taeyong continued walking, and Jaehyun hesitantly followed. They were expecting more than that. Just as they were about to turn around and leave, Taeyong stopped in his tracks and turned toward Johnny. He held out his fist, surprising the others. "Truce?"

"Yeah, alright," said the taller, and he knocked his fist against the redhead's.

"You need to improve your technique, you were too predictable."

"Predictable? No way."

"You literally _only_ punched and tried to throw me."

Johnny frowned. "Alright, fine. Teach me your ways."

Jaehyun laughed. People stared at the four as they walked through the hallway, but none of them really cared. They had been fighting not long earlier.

"The great Johnny Suh, having fighting lessons?" Yuta joked.

"Do you want some too?" asked Jaehyun.

The former scoffed. "No, I think I'm good."

"So," Johnny began, "you're in our class, aren't you?"

"Seems like it," Taeyong replied.

"Nice. It's full of nerds, it gets boring."

"I guess we just have to make it interesting," Jaehyun smirked.

"Oh, I'm sure we will."

Running. A chore at the best of times. But somehow, it felt different. Taeyong turned around, glancing at the three beside him as they ran. A man was on their trail, but they were losing him. There was no way he'd be able to catch up. As they ran, Johnny reached out and pulled him, directing him down an alleyway. When they came to a stop, Taeyong leaned against the wall as the others panted to regain their breath.

"How the hell are you not dying right now?"

"Rigorous training."

Yuta laughed, pulling something out of his pocket. He waved the stack of notes. "So, what now?"

"We go somewhere, and we count it," Johnny replied, "and I want to know what sort of 'rigorous training' Taeyong gets up to in his spare time."

"Believe me, it's not something I can just give a storytime about."

"What about you, Jaehyun?" asked Johnny. "You two are super close, do you train? You're less tired than us, but you're still panting like a dog."

Jaehyun shook his head. "I don't train, it's not my place to. I just have stamina."

"Right, didn't need to make that weird."

"He never even said that, you're the one making it weird," said Johnny, gently pushing Yuta.

Jaehyun laughed, shaking his head. "So, where are we going?"

"Come with me, we have this awesome hideout for when our parents kick us out," Johnny replied.

"You're prepared," said Taeyong.

"Well," said Johnny, "there are _other_ purposes for it, but I won't get into details."

"I don't think we want to know," Jaehyun replied.

To that, Yuta laughed. "You don't."

**_Late 2011_ **

Doyoung looked over to Taeyong's desk—over by the wall, in front of Johnny's desk—as somebody moved into view. He took off his glasses as he saw Eunjin sit on the desk in front of him, facing the delinquent. Doyoung could feel Taeil looking his way from beside him, but he ignored him.

"Can we talk?"

Taeyong looked back at Johnny, who winked at him. The former scoffed, crossing his arms. "I'm listening."

"Not here," she said, looking around. "There are too many people."

"What is so secretive that others can't hear?"

"Taeyong," said Johnny, "just go."

Jaehyun laughed, turning back to see Yuta peering forward curiously. Doyoung watched from across the room with furrowed eyebrows. He cleared his throat and stood up, ignoring Taeil as the elder reached out to pull him back.

"Lee Taeyong, you haven't handed in three pieces of homework due this week," he said in a matter-of-factly tone. "It's set for a reason, especially since you sleep in the lesson."

"Mind your own business," Taeyong replied, laughing.

"Or are you just too stupid to do the work?"

Eunjin turned around, looking so furious anybody would have thought he insulted her. "Go back to your little nerd station."

Taeil groaned at his desk, hiding his face in his hands. Doyoung just put himself straight at the top of the victim list.

"No. He's bringing the entire class' average down."

"He's not the only one, stop targeting him," Yuta yelled.

"Leave it, I don't care what he thinks of me. I'm stupid? Tell me something I don't already know."

"Taeyong!" Eunjin complained. "You're just going to let him insult you?"

He nodded. "What else am I supposed to do? It isn't as though he's holding a knife to my throat."

Eunjin sighed in frustration. Doyoung felt that was a success. He turned away, returning to his desk. He heard Eunjin leave, and turned to Taeil. The elder shook his head, and, waiting until the room was louder again, he leaned over to Doyoung. "You're crazy."

"Thanks."

"You know what will happen now? You'll be laughed at by _everybody,_ and Eunjin's girl-gang will make your life hell."

"For telling the truth?"

"You just interrupted something potentially important." Doyoung shrugged, and Taeil scoffed in disbelief. "You have a death wish."

"That's my own business."

"Do you know how they looked at you?" asked the elder. "Taeyong had a smug little smile on his face, Eunjin saw and _glared_ at you."

"Who smiles after being humiliated?"

"People like him."

"That makes me hate him even more."

It was lunch when Doyoung was sat on the roof, eating in peace. It was normally quiet, as everybody crammed into the cafeteria. He sat out of view of the door, tucked around the front of the building so nobody would bother him. Every now and again, he'd eat with Taeil, but the elder had said he was busy. So, Doyoung sat with his workbook on his lap as he ate a sandwich. He pushed his glasses up as they slipped down his nose, but upon hearing footsteps growing close, he placed his sandwich down, closed his book, and set them aside. He looked around the corner to see Taeyong and Eunjin kissing, and he almost turned around and did a loop around the building. It felt wrong, but he sat back down.

"On the roof? Seriously?" asked Eunjin.

There were no words from the delinquent, but upon hearing a moan, he almost choked and had to cover his mouth, coughing quietly. The world was purposefully trying to have him murdered by Taeyong. First, all of the outbursts and insults, and then being there when they were trying to have privacy? He was sure he'd meet his end soon enough.

Doyoung started packing his things as quietly as he could. He couldn't stay there. He just needed to walk around the building covering the stairs and run through the door. They were preoccupied, he shouldn't be followed. He stuffed his book into his backpack, trying to ignore what was going on around the corner. He jumped as his phone started buzzing against the floor and picked it up. Taeil. He ignored it and sat back down. He couldn't tell him, no way. They weren't _that_ close. Doyoung took a deep breath as he heard more footsteps. Perhaps he'd be saved. He heard Taeyong curse and closed his eyes. It would be over eventually.

"Taeyong... door," said Eunjin.

Doyoung covered his face with his hands. He could feel his face burning. He'd have to blast music to drown out the memory when he got away from them. He heard something else—deep, and clearly from Taeyong—and felt an unfamiliar feeling in his body. He needed to get out of there, but then...

"Jesus Christ, Taeyong!" Johnny yelled.

"Woah, we can wait," said Yuta, and pretending to throw up.

"I did _not_ come to school to see that," the eldest delinquent added.

There was a laugh. "Jaehyun, are you going red?"

"I'm not!"

"We brought who you asked for, but if I knew you were going to be busy, I would have taken a detour."

It sounded like they'd moved back towards the door. Doyoung opened his eyes, looking down. If he wasn't afraid of death, he'd have jumped straight off of the roof. No way was happening. He pinched himself, hoping he was dreaming, only for it to hurt. He took off his glasses and tossed them to the side, moving over to the front of the building. After some hesitation, he peered around the corner but immediately looked away upon seeing Eunjin on her knees on the floor. He couldn't see Taeyong, but he was glad.

He sat back down once again and drew a deep breath. He didn't have the slightest idea of how he could turn up to his lesson like that. He clenched his fist and waited. After a short while, he heard a whistle, and footsteps again.

"You're done?"

Someone cleared their throat, and Doyoung assumed it was Taeyong, given who followed talking. "Yeah."

"Next time, tell us," Yuta laughed.

"It wasn't exactly planned."

Eunjin scoffed. "You already had the idea in your mind, otherwise you wouldn't have dragged me up here."

"Anyway," said Johnny, "here he is."

"Looks nervous," said Taeyong, and he laughed quietly. "Don't worry, nobody is gonna hurt you, but we need your help."

"How?"

Doyoung's eyes widened. He swore that was Taeil's voice. He peeked around the corner again, and there he was—stood in front of Taeyong. That didn't make _any_ sense.

"Guns," said Taeyong abruptly. "We know your father deals."

Doyoung almost gasped. He knew nothing about Taeil's family, but he knew that there must have been a misunderstanding.

"Why? You surely know that they're not safe—"

"Of course we do," said Taeyong. "Or, do you think I'm stupid, too?"

"N-No."

"Then, can you get some? Any type."

There was a pause, and Doyoung sighed. It must have been true. He thought he knew Taeil. "Fine. I'm assuming you won't pay?"

"Oh, I will."

Quiet. Taeyong counted out some money and handed it to Taeil. The elder looked up in surprise. "F-Four hundred? Where did you get this money?"

"Let's just say, you're not the only one with a dark family."

"Wait..." said Taeil. "Your name... you're a—"

He was told to be quiet, and he did, immediately.

"A dangerous person," Taeyong continued, "so, don't keep us waiting."

**_Early 2012_ **

Doyoung kept quiet about what he'd heard and seen—and consequently, had to _do—_ on the roof. He never even mentioned Taeil's family. Doyoung tried to stay out of Taeyong's way, in fear of being shot, but it was harder said than done. The delinquent somehow appeared wherever he was. He couldn't escape him. And the memory was eating away at him. He had no idea that his only friend was hiding something so huge from him, and while it made sense, it couldn't stay buried forever.

Walking beside Taeil, Doyoung looked around. They were walking home from the library, where they'd been for a few hours, after school. It was getting dark, and they were on their way home. They lived in a similar area, so they decided to walk together. Taeil was looking at the ground as he walked. They were walking beside a park. It was quiet since it was dark. There was, however, one person who was walking through, alone.

"Doyoung," said the elder, abruptly. "What are you going to do when we graduate?"

Doyoung turned to him, humming in thought. "I don't know, my father is pushing me to figure it out though."

"I think I might work with my father, I don't think I deserve to aim for being a prosecutor anymore."

"Why?"

"Just because. It was a foolish dream anyway."

"I don't think it was foolish," Doyoung replied. "This city needs some decent people in law."

"You think I'm decent?"

Looking at the elder, he seemed taken aback. And almost in disbelief. "Why wouldn't I?"

"That's just not the vibes you give."

"What vibes _do_ I give?"

"Honestly? Smartass-who-thinks-he's-better-than-everybody-else vibes."

"Thanks?" Doyoung laughed.

Taeil smiled, but he turned back to the path in front of him. "You know, I feel like we're pretty good friends now. People said we'd clash, but here we... are."

"What? Why did you—"

The look on the elder's face was horrified. His eyes were wide as he stared forward, looking down at the ground. Doyoung hesitated, but he turned to look at what he was looking at.

He held his breath.

Blood, and among it, a body. A large man, tall, too. There was a gruesome, bloody gunshot wound on his head. It was fresh, and blood still oozed out of it. The bullet was on the floor beside his head. It had gone straight through.

Taeil turned towards the park, and when a black shadow moved, he immediately began to run in that direction. Doyoung looked at him as he ran away and panicked. "Taeil! Don't!"

He followed the elder, hoping he would stop running. They couldn't face a killer. Shoes collided with the soil as they ran through the trees, dodging trees and bushes. Doyoung tried to catch up, but Taeil was too fast. He was fading into the darkness. He continued to should of the elder as he disappeared out of view. He'd have long stopped had adrenaline not been pushing him onward. His glasses slipped as he ran, and eventually, they fell from his face and onto the ground as he ran. He couldn't look back.

Taeil was gone. Doyoung panicked, feeling a lump grow in his throat. He came to a stop. "Taeil?"

It was hard to see, but he could see the outline of a building in the distance. He heard a door slam. Hoping that Taeil had run into the building, Doyoung headed towards it. He walked quietly and carefully, looking at the graffiti covering the walls. The door was opened slightly. He reached forward, pushing it open. He quietly called for Taeil and stepped inside. Before he could look around, he was dragged inside.

A hand covered his mouth and he was pinned to the wall by somebody with their hood up and a black mask. Doyoung's eyes widened. He was being held with one arm, and when he looked down, there was a large gun in the person's other hand. The door was kicked shut, and the gun placed on a dirty cabinet. The person holding him in place pulled their hood down. The first thing he noticed was the red hair. When the mask was thrown aside, Doyoung tried to move from in front of them.

It was Taeyong.

"So, you were following me?" the elder asked, looking closely at Doyoung. "You look better without those glasses on."

Doyoung whimpered in fear. Suddenly Taeyong just became far more intimidating. His fear seemed to make the delinquent smile.

"To think I keep forgiving you for all of the insults you fire my way. I'm the one who stopped Eunjin from bullying you, too. You intrigue me."

Taeyong's hand moved from Doyoung's face, and the latter's fearful eyes stayed fixed on the elder. "Y-You—"

"Shot somebody? Killed him? Scared you? Yes, I pulled the trigger. But, do you know what?" he asked. "He deserved it."

Doyoung jumped when Taeyong reached for his pocket, but when he pulled out a photograph, the younger looked down. There was a person, dragging away somebody their age by the wrist.

"You see this girl, here?" he pointed at the photo. "She's at my house, wrapped up in a blanket right about now, talking to our family doctor. Tomorrow, she'll talk to the police. Yesterday, she was reported missing by her parents and had the _worst_ day of her life, that will stick with her forever."

"Is she... safe?"

"Now, she is. Because we rescued her. Her parents trusted us to find her."

"But killing is wrong!"

"Really?" asked Taeyong. "Without us, she might have killed somebody herself. And it wouldn't have been him."

Doyoung fell silent. He looked down, clenching his eyes shut as a tear slipped down his face. "But t-the police—"

"Are useless. I've shot a police officer before, you know. He did something similar."

"What are you going to do to me?"

"Nothing."

The younger looked up. He wasn't expecting that. "What?"

"You're going to keep quiet, or people like the girl on the photo will keep appearing."

Though Doyoung wouldn't admit it, he was actually scared to oppose Taeyong any further. "What about Taeil?"

"What about him? Is he with you?"

"He ran after you, too. He must have gone another way."

"You're both foolish," Taeyong scoffed. "If I was anybody else, you'd both end up dead. But because it's me, I'll assume you both value your lives enough to stay quiet."

Doyoung nodded gently. He looked at the gun on the cabinet and gulped. "Did Taeil give you that?"

Taeyong raised an eyebrow. "I told him to keep his mouth shut about that."

"He never told me! Don't blame him..."

"Then how do you know?"

"I-I..."

Taeyong waited. He was expecting an answer, and he wouldn't accept silence.

"I was there on the roof. You never saw me because I was eating my lunch out of view."

"Oh?" the delinquent smirked. "You were there? I thought you 'felt sick and saw a nurse'? If you were on the roof, why didn't you come to class?"

"I didn't want to see your face after _that_!"

"Why don't I believe you?"

Doyoung's face was red. He could feel it. Taeyong's eyes were on him like lasers. "I'm telling the truth."

"You're a nerd, you wouldn't skip a lesson for such a stupid reason. You could have used it against me. Why didn't you leave, too? Nobody was stopping you from leaving," said Taeyong. "Now that I think about it, it's a bit disturbing to know you were spying on us."

"I w-wasn't!"

"Sure. I think I know why you didn't come to the lesson."

Doyoung—once again—just wanted to disappear. He never wanted to even think about the events on the roof, never mind have to discuss them with Taeyong.

"Now, was it Eunjin who got you all worked up, or does our favorite class nerd have a secret?"

"None! You're reading the situation wrong!"

"So... a secret, hey?"

"No!" Doyoung insisted.

He furrowed his eyebrows as Taeyong laughed. He felt the latter's hand on his waist and was taken aback when he felt the delinquent's lips on his. The elder's existence was _constantly_ adding challenges to his life. His head collided with the wall as Taeyong's hand slipped under his shirt and jumper. When the initial surprise subsided, he closed his eyes and wrapped his arm around the elder's neck.

Taeyong pulled away from the kiss, despite Doyoung's eagerness. "I knew it."

Ignoring him, Doyoung initiated the next kiss and shivered when Taeyong pulled him away from the wall and into the room, refusing to let go until he tore his lips away and directed the younger onto the floor. Taeyong grinned in accomplishment when the younger moaned as his hand palmed his crotch. But before he could go any further, the door abruptly opened. The elder went to turn around, but Doyoung's eyes widened as he saw a stick swing in their direction and hit Taeyong right on the head.

The elder cursed, holding his head. He moved to stand up just as there was another swing that sent him straight back onto the floor beside Doyoung.

"T-Taeil?"

"Are you alright?"

Doyoung sighed, letting his head hit the floor. That was embarrassing. "I'm fine."

"Did he attack you?" asked Taeil, kneeling beside Taeyong, who was on the floor face down, completely still.

"No, he didn't," Doyoung replied, sitting up. "You came back at a bad time."

"Wait, you mean—"

Taeil tried to turn Taeyong over and took his hand away to see blood from the back of his head. He gasped, dropping the stick.

"Is he... dead?"

"N-No... This can't be happening."

"Taeil, answer me."

The eldest pressed a shaky hand on the delinquent's neck and shook his head. "He's alive, but... Doyoung?"

"What?"

Taeil continued to turn him around, and when the body fell onto the floor, he was taken aback upon seeing Taeyong's face. It was too dark, he couldn't see who it was from behind. "T-Taeyong? You were—"

"Please don't mention this ever again," said Doyoung quietly. "It's a long story."

"You were going to... with him? Lee Taeyong? I thought you hated him!"

"I-I do!"

Taeil shivered. "If Eunjin finds out..."

"She won't," said a third voice abruptly, and Taeyong lifted his arm to his face, groaning. "I won't tell her, neither should you. Nothing happened."

"Are you okay?" asked Doyoung nervously.

"I'm fine, it was just a light tap. But I think you owe it to me to make it up to me."

"How?" asked Taeil.

"Some water, a cloth. Food, preferably."

"Doyoung, come with me," said Taeil.

"I..."

Taeyong turned around, looking at the younger. "Do you want him to humiliate himself?"

"Doyoung, are you sure?"

He nodded. Taeil hesitantly stood up and walked toward the door.

"Light, on your way. There's one on the cupboard."

The light was turned on, and Doyoung sighed. The door closed as Taeil left. It was quiet out in the evening.

"So, I now know your secret."

Doyoung's nerves were wreaking havoc in his body. Adding to that, he felt uncomfortable. Taeyong lit a cigarette and began to smoke as he looked at the younger.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to run around telling people you suck dick every night. I couldn't care less, and frankly, I'm rather adventurous myself."

"Can we please _not_ talk about your sex life?"

Taeyong laughed. "Sorry, I get carried away."

Doyoung looked down at the floor, avoiding the elder's gaze. He didn't really want to stay with Taeyong, but he couldn't exactly walk around when he both looked and felt horrible.

"Don't you have something to deal with?"

"Right here?"

"I would offer to help you, but I'm a little bit disorientated right now," said Taeyong, "unless you want me to—"

"I'm good."

Taeyong pointed into the darkness. "There's a room back there."

"First, can we talk? Taeil will be back soon, and... I don't want him to be there."

"No confessions, please."

Doyoung scoffed. "I wasn't going to confess."

"Then, go ahead."

"Can we never talk about this again? Pretend you don't know."

"You're embarrassed?"

The younger nodded. Taeyong wasn't exactly surprised, and despite what people thought, he wasn't unreasonable.

"Fine. I'll be tight-lipped if you keep your mouth shut too."

"That's fine, I want to forget about this anyway."

"Go, it's weird to just talk like this while you're..." Taeyong smirked. "Don't worry, I'll close my ears."

Doyoung didn't know if he wanted to slap or kill Taeyong, but either would have sufficed.

**_Present Day_ **

When Taeyong awoke in the hospital, he groaned, running his hand along the bandage wrapped around his waist. It had to have been wrapped around at least four or five times. He repositioned his head on the pillow, sighing. There was nobody at his side, tightly holding his hand and waiting to greet him when he awoke—the room was empty. He glanced around and his gaze set on a bag placed on the floor beside a chair, and his lips curved into a smile.

Somehow, the door managed to open just as he acknowledged the bag on the floor, and he looked toward the door. Doyoung and Jaehyun walked in. The former had some plasters on his face, but other than that, he looked rather unscathed. Taeyong was glad, to say the least.

"You're awake?" asked Doyoung, running to his side. "You asshole! I've been shitting myself thinking you were going to die."

Taeyong chuckled as he pulled the seat over to the side of the bed. He reached over and moved some disorderly strands of hair from the leader's face, and gently caressed him. The elder looked surprised. "What happened to the real Doyoung? You're speaking like him, but you're acting like a complete stranger."

"Well, recent events have forced a new side of me to emerge. How are you feeling?"

"Like shit."

"Good, that's what you deserve for being reckless."

"Doyoung," said Jaehyun, and the advisor looked at him.

They seemed to talk through eye contact, leaving Taeyong extremely confused. Doyoung let out a sigh, and his hand moved from the leader's face. "Taeyong, something happened after the warehouse endeavor."

"Like what? Is it serious?"

"Well, it could have been, I suppose," he replied. "When Eunjin visited you—while you were unconscious—she suddenly started feeling... pain. But the doctor said it was just due to the stress of everything that was going on. She's fine now."

"What about the baby?"

"Also fine, I think that was their way of telling you to stop being reckless."

Taeyong scoffed, shaking his head. "How was I reckless? I saved your ass, didn't I?"

"Three people were injured, one of which is in a coma. Not to mention that you almost died out there."

"It isn't all Taeyong's fault," said Jaehyun, "I mean, me and Yuta should've done a better job trailing you."

"In that case, I'm also to blame. For running away rather than staying to talk about everything. I'd have been more likely to stay if Eunjin hadn't kissed Taeyong."

"She's just confused, I've told her I have no intentions of leaving you. She should be pissed off at me, but instead, she's trying to make excuses for me. That's my job, though I don't have any."

"'My friends are too attractive to not cheat on you with them'," Doyoung mocked.

"Well..."

Jaehyun cleared his throat. "I'll tell the others you're awake."

"Wait!" Taeyong yelled. "Come back, I want answers."

"Now isn't the best time," said the younger. "Maybe another time? The doctor needs to see you."

Jaehyun slipped out of the door before the leader could further argue, and Doyoung looked down at him. "What's that about, him and Yuta?"

"Yeah. They're acting like a married couple with severe issues."

"You can say that again," the advisor replied. "The entire time you were unconscious, they were bickering."

"How long was I out for?"

"A week."

"Seriously, that long?"

Doyoung nodded. "You were drugged up during the surgery to remove the bullet and stitch you up, plus they had you on strong pain medication which knocked you out for a few days."

"Shit," Taeyong muttered. "How's everybody doing?"

"I haven't seen Johnny all week, but I've told the others to resume normal activities but take a rest until further notice."

"So, basically you told them to work and pretend nothing has happened?"

"I suppose. Is that a problem?"

"No, not at all. How's Shotaro, Byun?"

"Shotaro is still pretty shaken, but he's been paired up with Sungchan temporarily, and they're both working with Mark's team. Byun—as I said—is in a coma, but the doctor said he's fortunate. He was still conscious long after you decided to nap on the battlefield, but he's taking a rest now."

Taeyong chuckled. "It was a pretty good nap, but I don't think I want to have another."

"What did it feel like?"

"Well, painful."

"Obviously."

"But when my eyes started shutting, it felt like my entire body was going numb. I couldn't move, and voices were fading, but it felt kind of... relieving."

"Strange," Doyoung hummed, "I always expected that being that close to death would be terrifying."

"Not when you're bleeding out all over the floor with a bullet wedged in your side, you tend to feel grateful when it starts to fade."

"Well, when you put it that way."

"Anyway, enough about me. What happened while I was looking for you?"

Doyoung sat back against the back of the chair and sighed. "Nothing much. A few punches, a lot of being thrown around. There were threats, slaps, and all the like, but their words were mostly empty."

"What kind of threats?"

"Well, they were only words—"

They heard shouting down the hallway, and Taeyong furrowed his eyebrows. That was a voice he never expected to hear. Soon after, the door slammed open, and a tall—and extremely furious—man walked in. Taeyong was taken aback as he stormed towards the hospital bed and gripped onto his shirt, pulling him up. Jaehyun and Yuta ran in after him, the latter's arm wrapped in a bandage. Taeyong looked up at the elder who grabbed onto him.

"You fucking asshole! Why the hell have you been getting Baekhyun involved in your foolish fights?"

Taeyong's eyes widened. They were on a first-name basis?

"Let go of him!" Doyoung yelled, trying to pull his hands away.

When the leader began proclaiming pain, he was dropped down. He held his hand over the bandages and clenched his eyes shut. Doyoung looked over him, checking for blood as the eldest criminal in the room turned away, fists clenched. Taeyong shook his head as his boyfriend moved to call for the doctor.

"Park Chanyeol," said Taeyong, still wincing in pain. "How do you know Byun— I mean Baekhyun?"

"How?" he yelled, turning around.

Taeyong was waiting for an answer. Chanyeol lifted his hand, and at first, the leader was confused, but then, he saw the ring.

"Y-You—"

"We're fucking married!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anybody feel like guessing what the next "mini-arc" is? I don't think it's obvious, maybe in the present slice of the chapter? Hint: it's not centered around DoTae.
> 
> There's a lot of awkwardness in this chapter, but I hope it's at least a tiny bit humorous? I don't do well with humor, because mine is particularly dark. Anyway, hope you enjoyed!


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